A cup is the small bowl drilled into the end of a wood bat's barrel. On a Tater® custom wood bat, it's the last adjustment that gets the bat to its exact weight. It also moves the balance toward your hands and lets us start from denser, stronger wood. Here's what the cup does and how to choose cupped or uncupped.
Cupped vs uncupped at a glance
| Cupped | Uncupped | |
|---|---|---|
| End of the barrel | A small bowl drilled into the end | Solid, rounded end |
| Weight at the end | A little less | A little more |
| Feel | A bit more balanced, quicker through the zone | A bit more weight out at the end |
| Wood it starts from | A heavier, denser billet | A lighter billet to hit the same weight |
What does cupping a bat do?
It gets the bat to your exact weight. We cup the bat after it comes off the lathe, as the final adjustment to hit its target weight. In one of our videos, a 32-inch bat weighed 29.5 ounces before cupping and 29 ounces after: exactly a drop 3.
It makes the bat swing a little lighter. Taking wood off the very end moves the center of gravity closer to your hands, so the bat feels lighter and moves through the zone faster.
It lets us use denser wood. Because the cup takes weight off the end, we can start from a heavier, denser billet and still hit your weight. Denser wood means a stronger, more durable bat.
Our standard cup is about 7/16 of an inch deep, unless you ask for something different. See where the cup fits into the build in how a wood bat is actually made.
Does a cup make a bat weaker?
No. This is the most common question we get about cupping. The cup comes off the very end of the barrel, away from where you make contact, and it's what lets the whole bat be made from denser wood. An uncupped bat at the same weight has to start from a lighter, less dense billet.
Cupped or uncupped: which should you choose?
- Choose cupped if you want a bat that feels balanced and quick through the zone. It's our default on custom bats, and the right call for most hitters.
- Choose uncupped if you like a little more weight out at the end of the barrel.
Either way, the cup fine-tunes the feel; the turn model sets it. A balanced model like the X4 or X24 stays balanced, and an end-loaded model like the 243 stays end-loaded. More in balanced vs end-loaded wood bats and how to choose a wood bat.
Ready to order? Build yours in the custom wood bat builder, or browse our stock wood bats.
FAQ
Why do wood bats have a cup on the end?
The cup takes a little weight off the end of the barrel. It gets the bat to its exact weight, moves the balance closer to your hands and lets the bat be made from denser wood.
Does cupping make a bat weaker?
No. The cup is at the very end of the barrel, away from the hitting surface, and it lets us start from a denser, stronger billet.
How much weight does cupping take off?
It depends on the bat. In one of our videos, cupping took a 32-inch bat from 29.5 ounces to 29, a drop 3.
Are Tater bats cupped?
Our custom bats are cupped by default, with a standard cup about 7/16 of an inch deep.
Key takeaways
- The cup is the final adjustment that gets a wood bat to its exact weight, and it moves the balance a little toward your hands.
- Cupping lets us start from a denser, stronger billet, so a cupped bat isn't weaker.
- Tater custom bats are cupped by default (about 7/16 of an inch); the turn model, not the cup, decides whether a bat is balanced or end-loaded.
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