What do you consider to be the best bats on the market? 2 1/4 inch diameter barrel -10 drop.

we've always had good luck with Louisville Slugger TPX bats

My son went through so many youth bats that even thinking about how much money i've spent on them over the last several years makes me nauseated and light-headed... C-555 Platinum, Triple 7, Triple 8, Gen1X, Connexion(s), Omaha(s), Response, the list goes on and on...

By far, his favorite bat was the DeMarini F2.

He liked the double-wall design best because the ball really exploded off of the bat. He said that nothing else had the same kind of "pop" that the F2 had. Whether it's the "bat that bends" marketing b.s. or the double-wall barrel, he seemed to hit the ball signifigantly harder with his F2.

My son is 13 now, if they had a Senior League F2, I guarantee that he would want another one. This bat was a little expensive, but worth the money.

We have a similar story to Heavy D we have had a progression of baseball bats over the years...Omaha, 888, Response, DeMarini F2 and the latest Stealth. The F2 does have great pop....funny sound but a real live bat. Stealth and Response were also good bats...

My son is using the Stealth Power Hitter -9 bat for Dixie Ozone. It is weighted the same as his AAU/USSSA bats so that was important. It has the best pop of any bat he has used.

The F2 was a favorite of his before he got stronger. According to their web site the double wall contruction does NOT have as fast an exit speed as a single wall bat. The bat is "end loaded" so it swings heavier or feels heavier than other brands of bats of the same weight and length. The F2 was the most durable bat he ever used. It never dented after thousands of hits. All of his other bats dented.

The Stealth bats did hold up well compared to the Rawlings Liquid Metal, Worth 3DX, Louisville AirGENX and the Easton Tri-shell bats that he used. Hope this helps.

F2's are a very popular bat here in San Diego.

I currently got a good deal for a Liquid Rawlings, I wanted him to get used to the weight before going for an upper tier bat next year when he is in HighSchool. SO far the Liquid Metal is holding up for him - 3 bat.

Next year I will get him an F2 or a TPX Response.

Other bats I have noticed are the Stealth and Championship Series Rawlings. Try going to Ebay , there are many bats you can buy new for a very good deal.

Good Luck!

My son likes the Liquid Metal line.

We just recieved a team bat from Kelley. "N Fuego" Seems to have great pop.... We will be using them this weekend and I will give an update then.

bdad12, too bad you're not in the Spring area, I need to have a few things embroidered.

quote:

Originally posted by Glove Man:
bdad12, too bad you're not in the Spring area, I need to have a few things embroidered.

I work in spring at Planet Ford. My wife does the other and we live in Kingwood.

I work in spring at Planet Ford. My wife does the other and we live in Kingwood.[/QUOTE]

Is Planet Ford a Ford dealer? Just curious as I'm a currently laid off Ford autoworker. That's why I may be moving to KC this summer with a job transfer.

quote:

Originally posted by Redhawks 27:
I work in spring at Planet Ford. My wife does the other and we live in Kingwood.

Is Planet Ford a Ford dealer? Just curious as I'm a currently laid off Ford autoworker. That's why I may be moving to KC this summer with a job transfer.[/QUOTE]

Planet Ford is a dealership.

Sorry to hear about the layoff. Hope all goes well.

Nails - how big is your son? What level does he play?

5 foot 1 inch, 115 pounds. Plays in little league, 11 and 12 year olds.

Hi Folks:

I'm fairy new and from Ontario, Canada.

A lot will depend upon size, etc. and how he is using the bats.

My little guy, is ten - he's 5'0" and 140 lbs. We use 2 3/4" barrels up here. Last year, he was 4" shorter and weighed 125. He hit very well with an Omaha (2 3/4", 28/19.5). He has doen a lot of winter training on the iron-mikes at a facility just south of us. There were weeks when he would put in 1000 hits ranging from 40 mph to 52 mph at 33 feet).

He now has two bats (an Easton Stealth 2 3/4" 30/21 game bat and an Easton Havoc 2 5/8", 30/21 practise bat). I bought the two end-of-season to bring the cost down a bit. Given that these bats only have so much life (2000 hits), I figured he should have as close a bat for a practise bat as possible. We have put in far less time with the bat this spring but he still has a few thousand hits. Most 10 yo here are using bats around the 18 oz. mark.

One of the considerations entering tournaments south of the border is aclimatizing our players to the bat differences.

I think there is a lot more psychology than distance in a lot of this stuff. The practise bat is saving the pop in his game bat and the Stealth is a beautiful bat but the confidence and aggression he takes to the plate with it is another thing again.

I would definitely consider a maker/size-matched practise bat if they're doing a lot of training.

Cheers,

Doug

Some Questions...

I know there are bat charts etc. on various sites. In a number of instances I have heard that ten year olds should be hitting no more than 19 oz. Then again, some ten year olds are a foot taller and twice the weight of others these days.

In my son's instance, (he has rown again in the past few weeks) he is 60 1/2" and 140 pounds. He has had fairly rigorous training in hitting mechanics. Is a 21 oz bat too heavy for him?

D

My 9 yo swings a 20 1/2 oz bat. My 9 yo is 4' 4" and weighs 65 lbs. Althoug he does help move 135 lbs bales of hay and 50 lbs bags of feed regularly. Part of his chores is to feed the horses.

Best Bat: Which ever bat he thinks he can hit with Having older sons (now) I've purchased enough bats to by a used car. OK a bad one....but I have found that no matter what bat they used, or their teemmates used, they all grabbed the one that had the current hot streak!

Also did a study with a radar gun that the small barrel bats generated a higher ball exit velocity "pop" than a ball hit by the same players using a big barrel? The bat speed generated was great enough to overcome the increased mass of the larger diameter bats...Though seeing the numbers with their own eyes, players still wanted to use the big barrel bats because the skinny bats were not cool!

I don't mean to trivialize this, because I have asked the same question for 12 years. But I am now convinced that it is 90% mental and 10% the metal.

It makes a lot of sense that velocity loss will be far greater than any power gain by increasing bat weight.

I would also guess that 2 3/4 barrel bats have most of their weight out at the end. Therefore there is a lot more torque required than a same weight 2 1/4 barrel.

My son has tried out a lighter 2 1/4" DiMarini Vexxum (team bat) but doesnt really like it. I think the problem is more related to his inability to find the "sweet spot." A practise consists of a few dozen hits whereas, we normally hit a couple hundred min. during the week on his other bat.

The barrel is definitely dropping when he swings. Does this matter? At his age the Pitchers are having a hard time getting the ball across the plate, let alone pitching him high inside consistently. He has had three or four very distinct periods of focussed hitting lessons. He knows that he has to get the barrel up and out in front to spank a high inside ball. Do you take a hitter who batted 750 underage last year and drop his average down to 500 just so his bat speed is better? He hits the ball 30' to 40' farther with his own bat than anything else he hits. He does not swing at anything, so he has plenty of pitches to choose from. My feeling is that the confidence, agression, and focus he brings using his own bat provides more towards getting the bat out front for that high inside pitch than anything else. Then again, is there something incorrectible in such an approach as he gets older?

D

At that age you could go with a -9 or -10, 29" or 30"