A baseball bat is generally a smooth piece of wood or aluminum used to bring home runs! Even though a smooth surface is comfortable to hold, it is not always the best when it comes to grip.
Players put bat grip on a wood bat to boost their control over the bat as they make their winning pitches! Here, you will see how to wrap a baseball bat using a simple wrapping technique.
Contents
- What to Prepare
- Step-by-step Guide on Wrapping Bats With Tape
- Step 1. Choose what materials you will use.
- Step 2. If you are rewrapping a bat, remove the old one first.
- Step 3. Place markings on where you would end taping
- Step 4. Find a position to hold the bat and unravel your new tape.
- Step 5. Time to wrap the tape all around.
- Step 6. You can make a second layer of tape
- Step 7. Wrap up the whole look
- Conclusion
What to Prepare
- Your favorite baseball bat. It can be with or without existing bat grips.
- Your choice of tape. You have different options like electrical, tennis, or bat tape offered by different brands.
- Marker
- Scissors or a cutting knife
- Fine-grit sandpaper
Step-by-step Guide on Wrapping Bats With Tape
Step 1. Choose what materials you will use.
Before you wrap a bat grip all over your beloved bat, you must decide what material to use first. Currently, players are being more and more creative in wrapping a bat handle. Some put their “style” into it as there are now different colors available to choose from!
Just be mindful that there are some considerations with your choice of material. Tapes should have the ability to absorb moisture, which is excellent for reducing slipping.
And now, you would see players wrap their bats with Lizard Skin or Vulcan Bat Grips, both stylish and could help accomplish what you need.
Some often choose the cheaper alternative, which is electrical tape or even the kind of tape used for other sports like cricket or tennis.
Step 2. If you are rewrapping a bat, remove the old one first.
You might have a trusted bat that you used for previous games already. However, if the old wrap is all worn out, it is time to rewrap a bat.
- Try to look for the end of the previous wrap and undo it. To help you, try using a cutting knife to peel off an end to start from there carefully.
- Unwind the tape and remove other stickers that you previously placed.
- Remove all tape material, residue, and sticky stuff from the bat. Still, expect to see some goo remaining on the bat’s handle. You can remove this by lightly rubbing it off with fine-grit sandpaper. Cut a small rectangle of sandpaper. When using, keep your strokes light and unidirectional.
This way, you get to avoid removing wood and focus and getting the gunk off your bat’s handle.
The second step is done if the bat looks good as new, fully exposing the wooden handle. This preps the bat so the new tape would adhere better and last longer.
Step 3. Place markings on where you would end taping
Before getting into the real wrapping action, know how high you want to wrap your bat. According to MLB rules, you can put grip tape on a bat for up to 18 inches up the handle.
If you go beyond this length, the bat can be called out of the game.
Similarly, taping is much less than what you need will defeat the purpose of taping. So, at least 6 inches of taped and regrip baseball bat would be nice.
But, these are just approximations, and the final decision lies in your preference. After deciding, mark it with ink.
As a tip, it is best to mark less than the actual length that you want. This way, you can cover the mark with the ends of the baseball tape for a cleaner look.
Step 4. Find a position to hold the bat and unravel your new tape.
Make sure you find a position that is comfortable and stable. If you have a pal, you can ask them to hold the bat securely while taping it.
Otherwise, you can squeeze the bat between your legs to keep it steady. Another one-person strategy is to hold the bat in one hand and swirl around the tape using the other. We will assign what each hand should hold on the next step.
Then, you can look for the end of your tape and unravel it.
Step 5. Time to wrap the tape all around.
Right-handed and left-handed pitchers have different ways to retape a baseball bat.
Right-handed players need to wrap in a counter-clockwise manner. For a lefty, it is the other way around and wraps clockwise.
- Essentially, you need to use your non-dominant hand to hold the bat while your dominant hand wraps the tape around.
- Get the end of your tape and press it on the bat closest to the end of the handle. Make sure to wrap in a spiraling direction and work your way from the most tapered end of the bat to the head.
- Apply sufficient pressure and tension to lay the tape as flat as possible. For the spirals’ overlap, leave spaces that are a bit smaller than the width of your tape. This way, you go down in a spiral direction without leaving gaps of wood seen between the grips.
- Continue wrapping around until you go slightly over the mark.
Step 6. You can make a second layer of tape
After one layer of tape, you can opt to stop there and skip to the next step. But, some players prefer to add a second layer of tape as they say this further boosts their grip on the bat.
To add a second layer, cut the previous end of the tape first because you will be changing directions.
Now, stick your new roll of tape and work your way opposite the first layer, but with the same principles.
Step 7. Wrap up the whole look
Whether with one or two layers, you can do some extra steps to help secure the end of the baseball grip.
Take a small piece of the tape you previously used and cover the last revolutions on the bat grips. Do this on both ends of the handle.
If you want something fancy, you can use a finishing sticker. This is optional, but this makes your baseball bat look more personalized!
The baseball bat wrapped in tape is now ready for use!
Conclusion
Wrapping tape over your bat’s handle differs from what you usually do for Christmas. Wrapping a baseball bat makes players comfortable with their own bat for better plays.
Here, you have seen the basic way on how to wrap a baseball bat. Do not forget to consider the wrapping direction, the kind of tape to use, and how much length you want to cover! These will indeed affect how much comfort and grip the tape-wrapped bat would give!
A powerful swing and the ball is flying across the field, just one hit, and we might never forget the thrill it brings. I do not know about you, but I never do. Every baseball game is the chance to compete with others and cooperate with your teammate. It is among my biggest passions.
