How to Make a Baseball Bat Heavier

One of the hardest things to do in all of sports is to make contact with an oncoming baseball by swinging a thin slab of wood. However, the faster you can move your bat through the strike zone, the greater your chances of striking the ball with sufficient force. To this end, many players attempt to increase the weight of their bats during practice so that when they return the bat to its original weight later on, they can trick their muscles into thinking the bat is heavier than it actually is.

Instructions

1. Swing several bats at the same time in the on-deck circle. This will result in a far slower swing in practice and allow you to really whip that single bat through the strike zone once you drop back down to one bat.

2. Add a "donut" to your bat. A donut is a round piece of heavy cast iron that is specially shaped to slide down to the bottom of a bat, providing increased weight and resistance. Once the donut is removed, your muscles will continue to exert the force required to swing the "heavier" bat, and thus your swing becomes faster and stronger.

3. Practice swinging a bat in a swimming pool. The increased resistance of the water will cause your muscles to have to work far harder to move the weight of the bat. Simply put, your muscles will believe the bat is heavier than it actually is.

4. Cover your bat in pine tar. Baseball has rules regarding the amount of this sticky substance a player may place on his bat. However, in addition to allowing for a better grip on the bat, the weight of your bat will increase slightly with its application.

5. Buy a heavier bat. You can't change the laws of physics. If you find that the bat you are using is too light for you, the only way to permanently increase its weight without compromising its integrity or the rules of baseball is to simply buy a new bat.

Tips & Warnings

• A bat can be made lighter by hollowing it out and adding cork, however, using a corked bat in an actual game is illegal.

• Never swing a bat that is too heavy for you. It is far too easy to strain a muscle when overexerting yourself in that manner.