10 year old Big Barrel bat help needed

This is a great question for 10Ubaseballweb.com or possibly the hitting section.

Senior league bat is what there called there 2 5/8 diam.
LL bats are 2 1/4 diam.

check out the sizes here.

Does your son swing the LL bat with ease?

http://www.justbats.com/defaul...px?c=779&pg=0&l=3&k=

EH .... Some travel organizations allow 2 3/4 in big barrel bats. I think these bats provide a false sense of security for hitters who should work harder on their hitting. Why use a bat with a barrel larger than that allowed in high school and high school age travel? When my son was allowed to use a 2 3/4 in travel, he still used his 2 1/4 LL bat. I think it made him a better hitter in the long run. Who cares how far a ten year old hits a ball? It means nothing towards the future.

Kaos,1st welcome to the HSBBW. Lots of answers to the many questions you will have over the next few years.
Let me start by saying that at 10 years old a ball player should swing what is most comfortable for him. Length,drop etc. I do not think you would gain any advantage at his age by going to a big barrel bat. He currently has one of the best bat on the market in his hand(IMO). As he gets to the 12u range is when you should start thinking about a big barrel.Chances are that he will have to use the 2-1/4 bat until then anyway. Most 12u tourneys do not allow the 2-5/8.Now I said most but not all. Have your son start to swing a wood bat in the off season to prepare him for the larger bats.
Now to the second part of the question. Pretty much the same bats that are good in 2-1/4 are good in the larger bats. Now if you do go to a big barrel you are going to want to look at the senior league bats. The drop on those are more like the youth bats

Does your son swing the LL bat with ease? He has swung it well so far.


This is a Travel AAU Team and they are allowed to use the Big Barrel bats. He plays both AAU and LL and in the LL he MUST use the 2 1/4 barrel in AAU they can use the big barrel. My son does swing and use a wood bat when hitting off a tee, soft toss and in the winter. I was looking at the SL B1 and it is 30-20 and he uses now a B1 LL that is a 30-18.

I would have thought a better brand of baseball (AAU) that they would NOT use a Big Barrel but I'm wrong. Is there a Big difference? I'm I wrong if I don't get him one .... do I put him at a disadvantage because the other teams and kids will be using a big barrel?

I totally agree with RJM. When my son, who is now a freshman in HS, was in 9u and 10u ball everyone on the team was using big barrell and he just used his LL bat, didnt do him any harm and he hit just as well if not better. My husband and I talked about it and agree that big barrell was a false sense of security. Would rather have him continue to work hard at hitting and it has definately paid off.

In my experience,the better big barrel bats are -10 and under(I see your son uses a -12).That B1 is allready a good bat.I've heard good things about the Combat B2 big barrel but have not seen it so I cannot comment on it's performance.I can say that the Demarinni Vexxum(-10,2 5/8") and the Worth Prodigy Lithium(-10,2 3/4") are both good big barrel bats.The Vexxum is very durable whereas the early model Prodigy were denting very easily.

The only advantage I see with a big barrel bat vs. a 2 1/4" bat is a little more barrel flex(trampoline effect).I do not think it makes hitting the ball any easier.If you don't square it up,it will still pop it up or drive it into the ground.It is still a round bat hitting a round ball.

My son hits BP with a wood bat as well.

kaos - IMO, get the big barrel. It won't turn a bad hitter into a good hitter... but it will reward a good hitter and give him more pop on his drives. Big Barrel bats typically have larger sweet spots than other bats. The newer composite big barrels have very big sweet spots.

Kids need to experience success to continue to work hard and enjoy baseball. This is especially true if you are playing competitive baseball. You can use whatever you want in practice such as wood if you think it will make you a better hitter. But if your son comes up to the plate with the game on the line, all eyes are on him, do you want him to be the hero or the goat? Are you thinking about HS baseball at that moment?

When my son was playing U13 travel ball a few year back some parents had their kids swing a -3 "to get Johnny ready for HS". Those kids mainly struck out or grounded out. Today, the ones I kept track of are sitting on the bench in HS or not even playing any more. Those swinging -5 or -8 bats were way more successful and today they are also successful in HS. Going to a -3 was a breeze. Teach success and that is what you will experience later on.

IMHO, I don't think barrel diameter matters that much. I do think that any bat that helps with bat speed, and confidence is what you need to look into...

I can tell you based on USSSA 12u Major/Ice-Level baseball in Florida, that A LOT of players use that B-1 Combat bat (the drop -10 version) which has a 2 1/4" Long-barrel... This bat produces, without a doubt, the longest bombs we've ever seen... consistently across the board - from team-to-team, and player-to-player... On our former travel-team, one of our kids hit 10 HR's this past Fall season with one of those Combat B-1's...

Personally, I can tell you that my son (age 11) has hit 30 HR's (on 230, 225, and 205 foot fences) within the last year or so between AAU, USSSA & Cal Ripken, using a Rawlings Gold Plasma (Model SLLMPG8 - 2 3/4" barrel -8, 30/22), TPX Dynasty (Model SL206 - 2 3/4" barrel -9, 30/21), a Easton Stealth CNT (Model BCN14 - 2 5/8" barrel -9, 30/21), and an Easton Stealth CNT (Model LCN7 - 2 1/4" barrel -9, 30/21)...

2 of his longest HR's were hit with the league ball 2 1/4" bat (a few measured at around 260-270+/-)... He's hit just as many bombs with the 2 5/8" composite bat than he has with 2 3/4" Alloy bats, and a few as far as with the 2 1/4"...

I agree with "it's not the arrow, it's the Indian" statement... Very little has to do with the width of the barrel...



-Good luck.

THIS HAS NOW BEEN POSTED IN THE HITTING FORUM.

Been coaching over 22 years and heres my take on the new equipment. In regards to travel and competition, I completely disagree with the "false sense of security" If its legal and your young player is a good hitter and can hit with any bat including a 2 1/4, why wouldn't you use one with a little bigger sweet spot while you can? Trust me the other teams will... Now, I do agree with making adjustments through the years to prepare for the -3 in HS, but you will be be hard pressed to find good travel teams that dont leverage them legally while they can...again, if youre trying compensate for poor technique, thats different and I would not use a large big barrel to compensate for skill....but using a legal bat, nothing wrong at all.

 

Its similar to the old hackers that say when golfing, you should still hit forged blades irons with a little tiny sweet spot and not use the new technology larger and more forgiving cavity back iron clubs to strike the golf ball and score... or use a tiny CC driver with a lower COR instead of a large max size/max COR driver with higher MOI...same with competitive baseball, if thats the case.. I think using wooden bats to practice etc is great... but to just use wooden bat only or limit yourself in competitive tournaments Unless its a wood bat rourney, which are neat too).. but thats not very bright either in young travel competition tournaments if 2 3/4 big barrel bats are perfectly legal, its physics...

 

Good Luck

http://www.justbats.com/produc...z/?sortBy=TotalSales Descending&size=24

 

I would get the Easton SL14S310B.  It will do the job for the boy. Save the receipt because the bat will have a lot of dents after a some BP and a tournament or two.  You can send the bat back to Easton for a replacement, but only one time.

       
       



I'm missing something....

You're recommending someone to buy a bat you recommend.. But it has issues in your experience and say to keep the receipts because you say you know it will dent a lot and send it back to manufacturer?? Why??

Doesn't sound very intelligent to me, dumb actually..if you're being serious.
Has nothing to do with the big barrel question either. Very odd response.

Use a tough sleeve on composites when taking BP. Get a quality bat, and use what works and is legal.

The original post was in 2009, that 10u kid can probably drive now...

And is probably using wood!

 

Just to clarify this post...MANY (okay most) popular drop 10 youth big barrel bats dent/crack.  They are very finicky and it's just what they do.  With the receipt, dated within 1 year, you can send the bat back to the manufacturer and they will verify it has been dented/cracked and will send a replacement bat in the same size or one size bigger of that bat or the next years model.

 

From 9u-12u I have heard of the parents sending the bat back at least 30 times.  So, Texas1836 was recommending a big barrel bat he has seen good results with, but also reminding the buyer about the exchange program.

You're right.  Kaos(the OP) recently posted video of his 2017 hitting very nicely with a wood bat.

 

One of these days a new user is going to come on this board and answer a question in a post so old that the kid mentioned in the OP will at that point be a dad with his own player and maybe even looking for the same answer online.

MrPipp1923, sorry to hear about your son's headache and you made the right decision having him sit a game.  That Lou guy from Columbia can't hit a lick.

From USA Baseball

 

DURHAM, N.C. -- USA Baseball, the national governing body for the sport of baseball in the U.S., in conjunction with participating national member organizations announced today the decision to adopt a new method for measuring bat performance in the testing of youth bats. Informed by the research of leading scientists on the USA Baseball Bat Study Committee, and supported by its NMOs, -- including the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), Babe Ruth Baseball/Cal Ripken Baseball, Dixie Youth Baseball, Little League Baseball and PONY Baseball -- USA Baseball has concluded that recent advancements in science, engineering, technology, and the materials available to fabricate non-wood bats, now allow the manufacturers to construct youth bats that can perform at a wood-like level through the entire range of lengths and weights of youth bats.

The new USA Baseball bat standard (USABat), which will apply to bats that are classified below the NCAA and NFHS level of play, will be implemented on January 1, 2018, allowing the bat manufacturers sufficient time to bring these bats to the marketplace.

"USA Baseball is pleased, with the support of our participating national member organizations, to announce the USABat standard," said USA Baseball's executive director/CEO, Paul Seiler. "Beginning with the launch in 2018, we will take another step forward in making our game more uniform at the youth level and ensuring the long-term integrity of the game."

Similar to the NCAA and NFHS BBCOR standard, which helped to eliminate discrepancies with different length bats and thus provide a more direct measure of bat performance, the new USA Baseball bat standard will allow youth baseball organizations in the United States to reach their goal of establishing a wood-like standard, a standard that will provide for the long-term integrity of the game.

There will be no immediate change to youth baseball organizations' bat rules. All bats, currently accepted for the respective leagues, remain permissible through December 31, 2017. Each participating national member organization will incorporate the new standard into their rules for the 2018 season and will begin, with this announcement, to inform their membership of the USABat standard.         

Frequently Asked Questions about the USABat standard:

Which national member organizations are implementing this new standard?
To date, the following organizations are participating (in alphabetical order): American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), Babe Ruth Baseball/Cal Ripken Baseball, Dixie Youth Baseball, Little League Baseball and PONY Baseball.

Why the change to a wood-like standard? 
USA Baseball's national member organizations believe that a wood-like performance standard will best provide for the long-term integrity of the game. The new standard will not have a drop-weight limit, so young players can use bats made with light-weight materials.

Why not just use wood bats?
Wood is a scarce resource. The new bats will be designed to perform much like wood, where its performance will be limited to the highest performing wood.

How is the USABat standard different from the BBCOR standard used by the NCAA and NFHS?
Both the USA Baseball and NCAA bat performance tests are based on the coefficient of restitution from a bat-ball impact. The scale of results is different, however, since they use different test balls and test speeds. The testing difference is necessary to address the various levels of play in the respective age groups.

Why is USA Baseball involved?   
The national member organizations asked USA Baseball as the national governing body to take the lead in this process to establish a new standard. Many other national governing bodies set and enforce standards for the equipment in their respective sports. To that end, USA Baseball established a Bat Study Committee of leading scientists and conducted theoretical modeling, field testing and lab testing. The committee shared its findings with the national member organizations, who then endorsed the new USABat standard.

Who were the scientists on the USA Baseball Bat Study Committee?
Alan Nathan, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Illinois
Dan Russell, Ph.D. Professor of Acoustics at Penn State University
Glenn Fleisig, Ph.D. Research Director of American Sports Medicine Institute

Why wait until 2018?
The implementation date of 2018 will allow bat manufacturers sufficient time to conduct the appropriate research, design, testing, manufacturing and shipping needed to get new bats into retail outlets. This date also allows the participating national member organizations adequate time to educate their memberships of the USABat standard.

Is my current bat good for league play?
Yes. Current league-approved bats can be used through December 31, 2017.

Is safety the reason for the change?
No. Youth baseball continues to be one of the safest of all sports for youth participants.

How will I know which bat to buy?
All new bats that bear the USABat licensing mark will be permissible for play in the leagues and tournaments of the participating youth baseball organizations.