17 year old son (6'1", 180lbs) is trying to decide whether to use a 34 vs 33. Has good bat speed/mechanics and chokes up about an inch on the 33. He doesn't like gripping the 33 on the knob.

Any tips or guidelines?

quote:

Originally posted by Superball:
17 year old son (6'1", 180lbs) is trying to decide whether to use a 34 vs 33. Has good bat speed/mechanics and chokes up about an inch on the 33. He doesn't like gripping the 33 on the knob.

Any tips or guidelines?

He should use what feels comfortable to him. Many players prefer to choke up.

In the "for what it's worth" department, I had a sales rep tell me that the bats are really manufactured to be proportioned to 32" and 33" lengths, and that the 34" length poses challenges with the -3 rule. He seemed to think the 34" bat loses something.

In any event, I've known some pretty darned big kids who never moved to a bat larger than 33". So if your son is more comfortable there, leave him be.

ok, thanks

I would say go with a 33. Im 6'4" 220 and i use a 33. The 34 just feels really slow coming through. I got some hits with one, but nothing notable.

However, if your going with a wood/composite for BP work then maybe you would want to go 34. I have a SamBat thats custom, 33.5 and it helps me with gain some batspeed. Whats nice in the wood department is that you can essentially customize your bat if you order from the manufacturer and not from a retail store.

As for choking up, do whats is comfortable. Theres a kid on my team that loves to choke up to the top 3/4 of the grip and he has some amazing bat control and he still is a very productive hitter(hits alot of gap shots due to the control). Me personally i like to stay at the bottom of the bat, but thats just my comfort zone.

My son is the same height/weight. He has hit some bombs with a 34/31 off slower pitching, but normally uses a 33/30.

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Im 6'4" 220

HOLY **** - you are huge in a good way. I don't think I have ever run across a high school baseball player that big.

Please tell me you are a senior and not a sophomore or anything.

You play football?

Haha thanks! I am a junior. And yes i play football, Tight End last year, and this year i may switch to some D-End (we have a kid that smoked me on 40's and besides i like to hit guys). I get this quite a bit(it was asked alot at the 2007 Arizona Fall Classic, i got mistaken for a senior on several occasions), alot of people wonder why i play baseball at my height/size. But i just say that it was my first love and alot of my family played baseball into college.

As for being in high school at this size, it was tough for Freshman/Sophomore year because i was very uncoordinated and slow (i think i maintained 6'4" 205-210. But this year it turned way way around. I went into a more serious offseason workout and put on 5-8lbs of solid muscle mass inside of 3.5 months (worked with one of the coaches at my school who was a triple sport NCAA athlete), and started to get my coordination. I played Varsity my freshman and sophomore years, but it was very easy to tell that i was uncoordinated on the field running but my coach said that i exhibited a very productive work ethic and that i had very solid bases for infield. I road the bench quite a bit because of my slow uncoordinated self, but it slightly changed towards the end of last season. But it changed now 100%, im very anxious!! I should have a starting spot for High School/Legion and then fall travel team!


Yes, height and weight has its advantages, but it has its downsides too as evident by my freshman and sophomore years. Ill see if I have some pictures to show you how much the change went form last season to this.

Wow you are a beast. If you were hitting and I was in the 3rd base box I would be at the fence scared to death.

That is awesome you have worked so hard to make yourself such a good player. Keep it up and best of luck to you.

Why thank you sir. Best of luck on your tasks also!

Buy a 32"