Weighted Bats Have Proven Not To Work—Just Like Weighted Balls

Here is a study that was done regarding the effectiviness of using weighted donuts to help increase bat speed. This study as others that have been done prove it not only does not work but reduces performance.

The proponents of any weighted impliment used to improve pitching performance should be asked the question: why then would weighted balls work to improve velocity if weights added to bats do not work?

The fact is they will not be able to give a scientific reason because there is none. Weighted balls do not work.

As a sports scientist whom I spoke to said: the only work on the placebo effect which means that if you believe strongly in something working it just might. But that doesn’t mean you should waste your time doing it.

If you colored a baseball green on one side and told players that by using this ball you could increase velocity, it just might happen.

Why not just tell them that if they improve their mechanics and spend more timing throwing that this will help improve their velocity. This too will work and has always worked and the only thing that will continue to work.

Res Q Exerc Sport. 2003 Sep; 74(3): 270-6.

Warm-up with baseball bats of varying moments of inertia: effect on bat velocity and swing pattern.

Southard D, Groomer L.

Department of Kinesiology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth 76129, USA. d. southard@tcu. edu

The purpose of this study was to determine if warm-up with baseball bats of different moments of inertia has an effect on swing pattern and bat velocity. Ten experienced baseball players (ages 20-25 years) voluntarily participated in this study. Each participant was required to complete 10 dry swings (5 warm-up and 5 postwarm-up) at maximum effort within 3 different conditions. Post warm-up was always with a standard bat (I = .27 kgm2; 83.8 cm, 9.1 N). Warm-up for Condition 1 was with the standard bat. Condition 2 required participants to warm up with a standard bat plus a 6.1 N lead donut (I = .49 kgm2, 83.8 cm, 15.6 N). Condition 3 required participants to warm up with a hollow plastic bat (I = .08 kgm2; 83.8 cm, 3.34 N). Quantitative and qualitative analyses indicated that following warm-up with the weighted bat (largest moment of inertia), swing pattern was significantly altered, and post warm-up velocity was the lowest of the three conditions.