Cold weather and bats

"99% of the bats that crack are in the fall and spring, I get maybe one in the summer weeks. When someone says their bat has cracked I go and check the temps in the area and almost all of the time the temps are too low. " -Big Dawg

There have been scientific studies done by Worth Sports and their data is interesting. Balls were tested at 72 degrees and they found that for every 1 degree the compression changed by 5lbs. So moving down the scale from 72 degrees a ball would perform better and moving up the scale it would perform worse. That is why in the spring and fall the ball seems to jump off the bat more and in the hot summer your bat seems to loose pop.

The relationship between cold weather and bats is a double edged sword. Let me first define what cold weather is; temperatures below 65 degrees. The ball will jump off the bats faster in cold weather because the cold temperature makes a ball denser. The ball makes the bat flex more because of the hardness therefore causing more trampoline effect.

Cold weather will produce significant gains in pop and distance to a shaved bat, rolled bat, or an unaltered bat. Each of these bats is more likely to break in cold weather and we do not recommend use in cold weather nor does the bat manufacturers. A bat warmer will help some but the balls are the real culprit. Going for batting practice on day where it is 70 degrees seems great but if those balls were kept in the garage or trunk overnight with 45 degree temperatures you will be in trouble. Even with the warnings and recommendations bat companies and we state people still go out and use bats in cold weather.

During the summer season each year we have never had more than 1 bat breaking complaint (which is truly an amazing stat). During the spring and fall we will get a some bat breaking complaints and when the temperatures are checked it has been under 65 degrees in their area. It isn’t always shaved bats that people are asking about a rolled bats or unaltered will break just the same. I broke a Z2000 in a batting cage over the winter (clean in half). I had made sure the balls I brought were kept inside my house but one of my teammates brought his bag of balls that were left in his trunk. There were plenty of other bats used but I should have known not to pull out the Louisville Slugger because they have a reputation to break easily in any weather.
Important points:

1 Balls will travel farther in cold weather
2 Bats are at risk to break in cold weather
3 A bat warmer will help but cold balls can still break bats
4 Do not use your best bat in cold weather