How to Juice an Aluminum Bat
The term "juice a bat" refers to the unsanctioned modification of a baseball bat to make the bat more "lively." Juicing a baseball bat makes the baseball travel farther, with greater velocity. Juicing a baseball bat is illegal in Major League Baseball, as well as all sanctioned baseball leagues. Use of a "juiced bat" will result in suspension and banning from play. "Juicing" a wooden baseball bat involves drilling out the end of the bat, filling the hole with cork and then plugging the hole to disguise the act. Modifying an aluminum bat in this way is impossible, because aluminum bats are hollow.
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Instructions
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Thinning the Barrel Walls
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Drill a hole in the end.
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Shave the inner walls of the bat with a metal file or lathe.
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3
Plug the hole.
Weighting the Bat or Painting the Barrel
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An aluminum bat can be "juiced" by removing the end cap and weighting it to increase bat speed. Weighting a bat is also referred to as "end-loading."
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Instead of adding weight just to the barrel, weight can be removed from the knob and then added to the barrel, thereby maintaining the bat's orignal weight.
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Unscrupulous players may remove the label from a nonapproved baseball bat and replace them with the label of an approved bat.
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Tips & Warnings
To improve baseball bat responsiveness ethically, experiment with lighter or heavier, but legal, bats.
There are reasons that bat juicing is banned in regulation baseball and softball. Juicing an aluminum bat weakens the bat, increasing the probability that it will break when a ball is hit. A bat that is broken in play becomes a dangerous projectile. Using a juiced bat gives an unfair advantage and is considered highly unsportsmanlike behavior.
