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Available both stock/untouched and Heat Rolled with Progressive Pressure - choose your preference during checkout!
RARE FIND: here at Longball Bats, we take pride in having a huge selection of baseball and softball bats - including hard to find bats like this one! Sold out most everywhere else, this bat is still available here at LBB - while it lasts!
Great players do their work in the dark. Nobody's filming the 10 p.m. cage session or the 5 a.m. lift, and that's the point. Combat built the Midnight Rodeo "Work to Shine" for those players, and the motto running down the barrel says it plainly: work in the dark to shine in the light. It's the Midnight Rodeo bat that leans hardest into the theme, a black Spec A1 lit up with neon purple, pink, and yellow graphics that look like a late-night arena sign, and it hits as loud as it looks. Combat made 5,000 individually numbered units, dropped them at midnight on August 8, 2025, with a two-per-customer cap, and sold through. Since then the only place to find one has been the secondary market, or right here in our Rare Finds section at LongballBats.com, new in the wrapper, while we've still got your size.
The neon is the message. The Spec A1 is the muscle. Combat calls it the most feared bat in BBCOR, and the Work to Shine carries the full build that earned that reputation. SFX Barrel Technology uses special engineering processes to create a longer barrel and a bigger sweet spot than any other one-piece alloy, so more of the bat produces hard contact and a ball off the end still rolls into the gap. It swings balanced, which keeps the Spec A1 fast through the zone without sacrificing any barrel performance, and Combat tuned the stiffness to hit with the direct feel of a one-piece and forgive like a two-piece on a jam shot. The Clinch Spec Grip is pre-loaded with extra tack and just the right amount of cushion. And the sound at contact, which Combat fans have taken to calling the midnight thwack on this one, is the same head-turner that has hitters barreling balls just to hear it again. The black colorway is approved for NCAA and NJCAA play alongside NFHS, so it's a legitimate gamer from high school through college.
Numbered drops like the Midnight Rodeo are exactly what our Rare Finds section was built for. LongballBats.com has been the Bat Performance Experts since 2016, our staff offers you more than 100 years of combined baseball and softball experience, and we've assembled one of the largest selections of sold-out, discontinued, and limited edition bats you'll find anywhere, including Combat drops from the Midnight Rodeo, Rodeo, Country Club, Performance, Outdoor, and Cookie Jar collections that Combat no longer sells. If you're hunting a specific bat, start with Rare Finds, and if it isn't there, ask us. When you buy a Rare Find from us, you get a brand new bat with the manufacturer's warranty, honest sizing advice, and same-day shipping on most orders placed before 1PM Eastern. You put in the work. We'll handle the bat.
- Limited edition Midnight Rodeo collection, one of just 5,000 individually numbered "Work to Shine" bats made
- Brand: Combat MFG
- Sport: Baseball
- Barrel Size: 2-5/8 inch, the largest allowed per stamp
- Certification: BBCOR .50 certified and approved for NFHS, NCAA, and NJCAA play
- Drop: -3 drop weight, the only drop allowed under the BBCOR standard
- One-piece alloy construction for a stiff, connected feel and direct energy transfer
- SFX BARREL TECHNOLOGY: Special engineering processes create a longer barrel and bigger sweet spot than any other one-piece alloy
- BALANCED SWING WEIGHT: Ultra-fast swing speeds without sacrificing any barrel performance
- FLEX & FORGIVENESS: Stiff, one-piece bat tuned to feel like a one-piece at contact and forgive like a two-piece on mishits
- CLINCH GRIP: Pre-loaded with COMBAT MFG MFG Clinch Spec Grip, with extra tack and just the right amount of cushion
- UNMISTAKABLE SOUND: Each swing unleashes a thwack that will turn every head within earshot
- Black colorway with neon purple, pink, and yellow graphics and "work in the dark to shine in the light" down the barrel
- One year manufacturer's warranty from COMBAT MFG
- Released August 8, 2025 as part of Combat's Midnight Rodeo drop, now sold out at the manufacturer
- Adding our Heat Roll with Progressive Pressure to your order may cause decertification, check with the governing body of your league for clarification
Manufacturing tolerances, performance considerations, and grip weight may cause variations from the listed weight/Mass Index.
QUESTION: Should I order this bat stock/untouched or Heat Rolled with Progressive Pressure?
ANSWER: If you order your new bat Heat Rolled with Progressive Pressure, it will be delivered to you completely and evenly broken in. This process adds 20-40ft of distance to your solid hits, increases consistency, improves durability and adds 2-3 business days of lead time to your order. If you plan to use the bat in an official game or event, please verify the legality of our process with your league or sanctioning body before use. We (LongballBats.com) do not encourage the use of a Heat Rolled bat in any game or event where it is against the rules. Click here for details about our process!
QUESTION: Should I order this bat with Free Shipping or Upgraded Shipping?
ANSWER: It just depends on how quickly you need it. This RARE FIND Bat is ready to ship and will generally ship same day if ordered before 1PM EST. Our free shipping method is just the cheapest method available to your address, which is usually a 2-6 day transit time but is NOT guaranteed. The upgrade options specify their transit times. UPS 2 Day Air and/or UPS Next Day Air are popular options for customers needing a bat quickly.
QUESTION: Why is this bat priced higher than retail?
ANSWER: Since limited edition and highly sought after bats are often are next to impossible to get, there are times that we're willing to pay higher than retail prices for them in the secondary market so that we're able to make them available to our customers. Many customers value performance and convenience over price, so our "RARE FIND" inventory is purchased with this in mind.
QUESTION: What does "Work to Shine" mean?
ANSWER: It's short for the full motto printed on the barrel: "work in the dark to shine in the light." Combat built the Midnight Rodeo collection around the idea that the players who shine under the lights are the ones who put in the hours when nobody's watching, and the Work to Shine is the bat that says it out loud. Combat describes the target audience as late-night cage dwellers and midnight gym rats. If that's you, the motto isn't decoration. It's a receipt.
QUESTION: Does the Work to Shine really glow under black light?
ANSWER: Some owners say so. We've seen a few resale listings describe the neon graphics as glowing under a black light, which would make sense given the fluorescent purple, pink, and yellow Combat used. Combat doesn't advertise it as a feature, and we haven't put ours under a UV lamp, so treat it as a fun possibility rather than a spec. What's certain is that the graphics are bright enough to read from the outfield in daylight, which is the whole idea behind a Midnight Rodeo bat.
QUESTION: Is the Work to Shine the same bat as the Arena Cowboy and Saddle Up?
ANSWER: Yes, in everything but the artwork. The Midnight Rodeo drop included three Spec A1 colorways: the Arena Cowboy, the Work to Shine, and the Saddle Up. Each was limited to 5,000 individually numbered bats, and all three carry the identical one-piece alloy build with SFX Barrel Technology, a balanced swing weight, and the Clinch Spec Grip. They swing and hit the same, so the choice comes down to which motto belongs in your hands. We stock what we can find from all three in Rare Finds!
