Is it possible that some of the new -13 or so bats are just too light to properly handle a baseball. I ask this because on even the slightest mis hit my son's bat stings his hands to an alarming degree. He is 7 and doesn't always catch the ball on the spot. If he hits one really off it will put him on his knees in pain. We were playing with his older nephew the other day who is a pretty good little ball player at 12 and afetr a few swings with it he asked if the bat could handle these balls. He was obviously experiencing the same thing.

Because of this we switched to a bit heavier bat. He can't swing it quite as quickly, but it is much more forgiving. He gets a lot more swings in when he is not on his knees. The bat in question is the two piece Vexxum 29/15.5oz. It has a composite handle. Is it just the super light weight combined with his inability to find the spot consistently? Has anyone else had this issue with one of the super light bats?

Thanks,

Tim

This is not an unusual problem. I would offer a few comments:

1. You spent way too much money on a bat for a 7 year old.

2. I am suspicious of these composite bats. I have personally seen one of the brand new Exo's come apart from the simple occurrence of a fastball on the fists -- the bond between the composite panels and the metal webbing in which they are placed simply did not hold. There have been reports elsewhere on this site of several other such occurrences. This could be the cause of your problem.

3. Also check the way your son grips the bat. Most young kids just grab the handle and end up holding it wrapped in their thumbs. The proper grip is to place the handle at the base of the fingers, at the top of the meat part of your hand, then pull the bat handle into the hand, and put the thumb over top. This allows a relaxed grip that holds the bat firmly enough to prevent heavy vibration. The telltale sign of this is, where is the pain your son experiences? If it's at or right next to his thumbs, I'd be willing to bet he's holding the bat wrong.

Heavier bats may have thicker handles, and that may reduce the symptoms of improper grip. But even if you stick with the heavier bat, fix the grip. It helps bat head control and bat head whip (power).

There are also those little rubber ring-shaped things that you can put over the bottom of the bat that reduce vibrations significantly. Some batting gloves as well help reduce the vibration.

Thanks for the responses. I was thinking that the grip could be part of the problem. The Vexxum has a very thin handle and I can see where that may make it easier for him to grip the bat incorrectly.

Thanks

Watch the super light bats for another problem. Some kids aren't strong enough to keep them moving through contact.

Using video, I have seen the super light bats stop when they make contact with the ball. Have even seen a rebound of the bat.

There just isn't enough momentum (momentum having two components, mass and velocity).

Some parents worry about heavier bats. But I have had kids go to a heavier bat & seen improvement in their hitting. Going too long is more of a problem than going a little heavier.

When this topic comes up, the first thing some folks say is "batspeed". Yet it is batspeed through contact that counts. When the bat is so light that the bat stops on contact with the ball, the batspeed is ZERO.

Bigger kids may be strong enough to maintain batspeed through contact with the super light bats. Many smaller & regular size kids are not.

Texan, you are right, some kids do allow the bat to shake from contact with the ball. But I don't know that a shorter, heavier bat helps. Usually it is a matter of proper grip and building hand strength.

It cured the problem of the stopping/rebounding bat in all of the kids I worked with.

Please note, that did NOT mean that I moved 9/10YO's over to -3's.

It was not a matter of shake, hand strength or loose grips. It was simple physics. The baseball had more momentum coming in than the bat did coming around.

Another reason not to go with ultralight bats. By ~13YO (no later than 14YO), a kid should be swinging a -3. They need to have plenty of time to adjust to the -3 before they hit HS where a -3 is mandatory.