for a good economical choice for a big barrel for a 13U?

I have a 13 yr old and have found that the Louisville Slugger bats have the best "feel" and balance of the big barrels. Currently the best value of the LS bats in my opinion is the Omaha XS Scandium, sells on the net for about $130. This bat is a (-8). They also have a (-5) model in the "response" line which sells for $180. As always, I check E-Bay first to see if I can get lucky with finding a used bat , but usually end up buying new. My experience with the 1 yr warranty has been good, if the bat is dented, I send it back had they replace quickly.

My son turns 13 in March and he's become a big fan of the Easton Connection. Frankly, IMO the difference in pop between the Connection and the comparably priced TPX (Response or Gen 1x depending on year) is probably negligible. We've found, hoever, that in general the Easton bats hold up better. He went threw 3 Omahas last year (dents) that were only used in games. He went to the 2002 Connection, and dented it the first AB on a shot up the right center field alley. They replaced it with the new model and it's held up very well this season.
Whatever you use, the trick is to buy at the end of the model year (around the College WS) and assume you will need warranty replacement.
To be candid, if a kid at that age can go through a year without denting one of these thin walled -8 bats he must be doing something wrong at the plate and not generating enough bat speed.

Thanks. This is for a player on my team whose financial reasources are fairly limited, so I wanted to provide some guidance to his family on a reasonable choice.

If you have a local training facility with a pro shop, ask them if they have any older model bats they could sell. Ours has bats from last year (maybe even older?) that they have in a barrel at a great discount.

*****************************
"Hey dad.......how 'bout a catch?"

Coachdubya,
Finding a good used big barrel should be fairly easy. Check with the dad's of older players. I may even have a couple for a good price. If interested just pm me with what your looking for.

Knowledge is Power! Thank you Mavens and HSBBWEB!

Try

therealplayer.com

You can get closeouts and BLEMS... which are usually a flaw in the paint which is hardly noticeable...

they have 2004 OMAHA SCANDIUM BLEM for $79 right now....

Look for closeout models from last season. My son uses the 777 - it replaced the Omaha and he likes it better. I believe we paid $99 for it last year. It's hard to get a big barrel bat for less than $100, unless it is used. If you find one for less, it will most likely not be a thin wall bat and will weigh a ton.

http://www.highviewheat.com/index.asp

http://www.kristensfastpitchworld.com/index.asp

SDBB, thanks for the link.

Quick question for you or anyone else out there. I'm looking to purchase a new bat for my son this season. He prefers Easton to Louisville Slugger at the moment. I definitely don't want to spend a lot of money since this will be the only season the bat will be used.

I'm contemplating purchasing the following bats:

- 2004 Easton Triple 7

- 2003 Easton Tri-Shell Composite

With the 2004 models the Tri-Shell Composite is listed as their top bat for 2004 (at the youth level). Is it safe to assume that the 2003 Tri-Shell Composite was their best model of 2003 as well? Both bats are $99.

Would you go with the 2003 Tri-Shell Composite or the 2004 Triple 7?

Jason

FlippJ

We have tested, albeit unscientifically, every top youth bat from every manufacturer and without exception the Tri-shell outperforms them all. We have hit thousands of balls. Everytime a new bat with "new technology" is introduced we test it. We ALWAYS go back to the Tri-Shell. Hands down the best performance. I wish that they made a big barrell version. I have seen no difference between the 777 version and the 888 version. They both perform great.

SDBB

Thanks for the link! As much as I spend on bats for my two sons 10 and 20, this is a great alternative to full retail!!

FlippJ
We have tryed most of the Bats on the market and have had more luck with the durability of the Eastons and prefer the 777 or 888 lines. They appear to have more responce than the composite lines. (Just our experience)
The -12.5 you showed may be a little light for your sons age and size but I'm not sure of your requirement. I'm thinking he's around 12 years old.

My son has an Easton Connexion but I don't like how light it is. It's only 19.5 ounces and I think that is too light for him. On top of that it's only 31" and I believe he needs to swing a 32" bat.

The Tri-Shell makes the most sense because it's only -11 (32" - 21oz). The Triple 7 caught my eye because of the price and the fact that it was a 2004 model. The Triple 7 however is a -12.5 (32" - 19.5oz) which I believe is too light for my son.

Yes SLIDER24, my son is 12 years old. You commented on how the Triple 7 "appear to have more response than the composite lines"... I'm not really sure what you mean by that. Did you mean they seemed to have more pop or just that they seemed to be more durable?

Callaway, thanks for sharing your experiences.

Jason

FlippJ
I guess most people refer to it as pop.

Responce is just my choice of words for the way the ball comes off the bat. Not only in hitting for power but also just plain simple contact and bunts.

Composite Bats by any manufacturer are probably without a dought the most durable.

You are correct about length. I feel that lenght is by far more imporatant than weight but a light weight bat is sometimes worse than than heavier bat. Consider where he will be at the next level and start preparing for that as soon as he can handle it.

Thanks for the explanation!

Jason

We are really fond of the 777. Have 2 of them on the team in different lengths.

http://www.highviewheat.com/index.asp

http://www.kristensfastpitchworld.com/index.asp

Flipp,

Kevin has the TriShell (of course I paid ~$165 for it last year!). It was indeed Easton's top o' the line bat at that time.

We haven't tried other bats, but he really likes the feel of the ball coming off it, as well as (silly as it may seem) the look. Gotta feel good about your tools up there!

get the blue connection Sc888

Do a web search on closeouts. I was able to get one of my players an Easton Octane -3 for $50. BESR certified, with full warranty. Last year's model. $50. Amazing.

BTW. Depending on the boy, at 13YO he may want to go ahead & switch over to the -3 rather than getting a -8.5.

Two of my best hitters, one a good sized kid and the other a small kid, switched to -3's at 13YO. And did very well after a couple of months adjustment. All the rest of the team was made to switch to -3's upon becoming 14YO's. They need to become proficient with the -3 before reaching HS tryouts.

"Show me a guy who can't pitch inside and I'll show you a loser." Sandy Koufax

Coachdubya,
What size bat do you need for the player on your team???

I'm still reading, it ain't time yet!!!

We have tried a number of (Senior League) bats in our program.

We see a performance difference between the 2003 and 2004 models for Louisville Slugger and Easton. The Response is a good bat. Also the Easton 888 and Easton 888 Connexion.

Lastly, the kids really like the DeMarini Vexxum. Has a huge barrel and that seems to help.

One cautionary note: our kids did not like the Senior League Liquid Metal bat. First, the graphics were put on by label which made it seem cheap; second the knob is plastic and third the sound when hitting the sweet spot is unsatisfying. Hard to seperate those objections from real performance analysis, but that's the general feedback from our kids.