Wooden bats are most commonly used in professional baseball because they are heavier and harder to handle, making baseball play more challenging. They are used intermittently at various levels of play, usually not being introduced to players until they are in their teenage years. Part of what makes wooden bats difficult to handle is their handle, which can be smooth and narrow. A common remedy many athletes use is to wrap athletic tape around the handle, bulking it up while providing a rough surface to hold on to. Taping your baseball bat is easy and should only take a couple minutes.
Step 1
Sit in a chair or on the ground with your legs out in front of you. Place the bat between your legs with the barrel end on the ground and the handle pointing straight up towards the sky. Close your legs on the bat to hold it in place.
Step 2
Sand the handle of the bat with fine sandpaper if there is any old tape still stuck to the bat. This gets rid of any leftover glue residue. Don't do any more than use the sandpaper to eliminate glue--the more wood you sand off, the faster your bat will wear out.
Step 3
Pull out eight to 12 inches of tape from the roll. Do not cut or remove the tape from the roll--you will use it to guide and pull the tape around your handle.
Step 4
Tape the bat in one of two ways: either tape in a spiral manner to cover the entire handle, or tape in a criss-cross style. If you are taping criss-cross, wind the tape up around the handle starting at the knob until you reach the length of the handle you would like covered. Wrap a loop of tape once around the far end of the wrap, and then begin taping back to the knob in a spiral direction against your first spiral, creating a criss-cross. Make sure the tape stays flat, or as flat as possible, when you are applying it to the handle.
Step 5
Tape in a spiral direction by taping a loop around the handle about half an inch from the knob, then slowly progressing down the handle with a gradual spiral that covers the entire handle. Continue in this pattern until you reach the desired length, then rip or cut the tape and complete a full loop around the far end of the handle.
Tips and Warnings
- If your handle is still too narrow to hold comfortably, apply another layer of your wrap.
Things You'll Need
- Baseball bat
- Athletic tape
- Fine sandpaper
Member Comments