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In Baseball, why do the batters waiting to go and bat have some kind of cover on their bat? It's not a full cover, it just seems to be something that goes around the thick part of the bat. It looks like a knee/elbow protector that someone has slid over their bat.

He wasn't even swinging at balls or anything, just swinging at air. It seemed almost like he was trying to cover up what was on the bat (like a picture or text)

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Alright so these are what used to be known as 'donuts.' They are a weight sleeve or ring that the player puts on the bat to make it heavier as they warm up. They take the practice swings with the bat heavier so their muscles adjust to the weight, then remove it so the bat feels much lighter and they have a quicker swing. It is a very effective tactic that I use myself when I play.

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    Also just FYI - there is evidence that these are actually ineffective and even detrimental - en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_doughnut
    – dgo
    Jun 15, 2015 at 0:37
  • @user1167442 Yes, I wish I could upvote your comment 100 times. This is yet another traditional baseball practice that is detrimental to player performance. Thank you for pointing that out
    – mhodges
    Apr 28, 2016 at 15:08

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