2 3/4 vs 2 5/8 barrell size

Maybe the kid lacks confidence, poor hitter. He may not even try out of HS if he has a bad time in at 10. In a good hitter, I think the fathead would be bad.

If that is the case he will be REALLY confident with this one....



PS: It's the batter not the bat that makes the difference.

Some talk about 2 3/4 bats building confidence. What if it's false confidence based on a tool that will become illegal?

My son used his LL bat for 12U travel. Most kids in our area did. So we didn't see the 300 foot shots by kiddie ballers. When I heard about them on boards I would think "BS" to myself. Then I learned about the bats. I'm glad my son learned how to hit with a LL bat.

And I don't know of any kids who were horrible at ten who became middle school players by changing their bat and gaining confidence. There' a lot more wrong than the bat if a kid can't hit.

quote:

Originally posted by BOF:
If that is the case he will be REALLY confident with this one....



PS: It's the batter not the bat that makes the difference.

another anology, it's ain't the arrow, it's the indian.

Big barrel bats for a 10 year old? Around here, playing travel ball with a 2 1/4" Little League bat is considered very uncool. Secondly, most 10 year olds are swinging -13 to -11 bats, and those are very hard to find in 2 5/8, but easily found in big barrels. In fact, it has only been in the last 2 or 3 years that any 2 5/8 bat could be bought at less than -5. So the tradition here has been for a "serious" player to have a big barrel.

The diameter and hitting area of a big barrel is 5% more than a 2 5/8, and that difference simply pales in comparison to the difference between a high school -3 bat and whatever a kid is swinging at 10. By the way, MLB player's bats have more than 1/8" variation in diameter, because varying the diameter is about the only (legal) way to change the drop of a wood bat.

So, any of the three sizes will work, and the diameter is minimally significant in the development of a hitter. Choosing the right weight and length are by far more important.

Most 10 year olds will be swayed by appearances, and I believe that is the main reason parents spring for the big barrel.

I think everyone would agree that it takes more skill to square up a ball using a 2 1/4 barrell than it does to square up with the 2 3/4. My solution or happy medium with the coaches that are dead set on the kids swinging the biggest barrell is to take BP with smaller barrelled wood bats. If they can hit with wood, they can surely hit with anything else.

3fingeredglove, I see your point about the "cool" factor. I can live with flat brimmed hat, live with the baggy pants like Manny as long as they are being taught to play the game the right way. Selling the kids on swinging wood in BP was too easy because its the trendy thing for all HS ballplayers to take their BP with wood around here. At 10 yrs old, a high schooler is like a big leaguer to these kids.

I think there is too much concern being put on the barrel diameter when weight is the only factor that has to be changed from 8 yrs old-18 years old.

If, when playing in HS, the rules mandated that you could only swing with a 2-1/4 diameter bat, then I could see the argument for having him use that size at a younger age, but there is no time in his career (however long that is) will he be required to use that size unless he is in a league like Little League Baseball.

The size difference between 2-5/8 and 2-3/4 is so insignificant that it really does not matter. Until the composites came out, the only way to make the bat with a 2-3/4 diameter barrel was to have the length only be about 4".

To me, the arguement needs to be about the right weight and/or length. I see a lot of kids that continue to swing a weight that is too light for their progression to HS (-3). If a 12 year old is still swinging a -10, or a 13U is still swinging a -8.5 they are going to have a hard time making the change to -3 for JV. I hear people that say "He will start using a -3 the fall before JV." which is too late. They need a good progression such as 13U = -5 and 14U = -5 and -3.


I do believe in letting the kids hit wood bats in the off season. It makes them work harder for a good hit but has the same barrel diameter they will continue to use. The only problem is finding good quality wood bats in the same weight range as your metal ones. It is easier the closer you get to -3 but for younger kids it is a challenge.

As for improving hand/eye coordination, I prefer the ole broom handle hitting whiffle golf balls drill. It help focus in on the ball and consistently hit on a smaller surface area.

Southpaws Dad, I agree with you on there not really being a big difference in the barrel sizes. Weight is the biggy. My son has used a wood bat the last 2 off seasons to strengthen his bat speed for the upcoming season. He also uses a wood bat for all his cage work during the season.He also played in a wood bat HS league this past fall. I'm hoping that the wood bat work over the last 2 years helps. I realize that he has to continue to gain strength thru other means also. Good disscussion.

Teach a 3 year old to hit plastic golf balls with a broom stick and confidence and bat size will never be an issue..

My son is playing youth baseball and the type/size of bat is all the rage with the players/parents.IMO barrel diameter doesn't increase the contact area by a significant amount.It is still a round bat hitting a round ball.I think the bigger the barrel,the more barrel flex it will have and in return the more "trampoline effect" the barrel will have.The problem with a 2 3/4" barrel with a -10 length to weight ratio is that the barrel ends up being way too thin.All the 2 3/4 barrel bats that I have seen with a -10 usually dent very easy.With that said,they do have some of the most pop I have seen.

I do strongly feel the benefits to using wood bats to practice are great.I have my son swinging wood to practice and have experienced a huge improvement in his contact.I have him take BP on Fridays practice, before his weekend games,with his game bat though.Most other practices are with his wood bats.

Great discussion and valid viewpoints.
Based on my many years of experience in conducting R&D for bat design, I can assure you that there is 2-3/4 diameter bat ahs measurable increase in performance (pop) and sweet spot over identical weight 2-5/8 bat.

Finally, The bat weight alone is not enough. What is more important is the swing weight aka Moment of Inertia. Two bats with same weight can have different MOI values. Of course higher MOI bat will feel top heavy. For increasing bat speed one must design a weight with lower MOI. However, NCAA and NFHS BESR certification protocol has a lower limit for MOI for the different lengths.
You are welcome to email me if you have any technical questions.

Regards,

I can tell you based on USSSA 12u Major-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 travel-team, one of our kids has hit 10 HR's this Fall season with one of those Combat B-1's...

Personally, I can tell you that my son (age 11) has hit 15 HR's (on 230, 225, and 205 foot fences) within the last year between USSSA & Cal Ripken, using a 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)...

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 with the 2 5/8" composite bat than he has with 2 3/4" Alloy bat, but none 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, IMHO...

I think with the younger kids,they don't yet have the strength to flex the smaller/tighter barrels.Some of the best youth bats IMO are 2 1/4".When my son has the strength,we will definitely go composite 2 1/4" in the appropriate weight.

Bolts-Coach-PR,
Any experience with the Combat B2 yet?I've heard great things about them.Anybody know if they're available to the public yet?I would also like to demo a CF3.I've seen some bombs hit with those as well.

quote:

Any experience with the Combat B2 yet?I've heard great things about them. Anybody know if they're available to the public yet?

A team that we're good friends with here out of Brevard County is sponsored in some part by Combat, and they had some of the Blue B2's at a tournament we both attended recently... They let some of our kids use them, and they didn't produce any dingers (because we were playing on a softball field that had 15 ft. high fences at 300+ feet away... but according to all that tried... it felt good, and was similar to the B1...

Not much info, I know, but that's all I got...

After seeing the comments about how far balls are flying off these composite or thin walled trampoline barreled bats, it really makes me wonder. Do these high tech weapons that we put in our boys hands really make for a better hitter? I really just want to teach kids how to hit, but these bats are so forgiving that its tough to teach a kid to hit the inside of the ball or extend when all they have to do is get close and let the bat do the rest.

Yes, I'll have these same bats in our dugout too, so I'm not condemning anyone that uses them, just wondering if were all doing the right thing. I don't think we really have a choice unless we go exclusively with wood. I'm sure my kids would love playing small ball with wood when the other teams are raking them over the fence. Yea, we'll definitely be using them and I'll be hoping that I can still teach them to hit the right way.

Metropop,
That is exactly why I have my son practice with wood.The high tech bats out nowdays are so hot that it will still produce a good hit ball if it's a little off the handle or end of the bat.Using wood to practice teaches them to hit on the sweet spot.They get instant feedback if it's not and can make the necesary adjustments.The problem with using wood to practice is it's a little hard to find a simular weight to length drop for those using lighter bats.

Another thing I see alot is parents tring to buy their kids hits instead of working on their mechanics.Buying a kid a bat might produce a few more hits but teaching mechanics will produce a overall better hitter.I strongly believe in using the tee at all age levels to work on mechanics as well as taking live BP.
When I throw BP to my son,I can definitely tell the diffence when a line drive comes straight back off the wood or his game bat.

When it comes to the games,I want to give my son the best tools to be succesful that I can afford(within reason).My thinking is why put him at a disadvantage by using his wood bats during the games while the other kids are using their "hot" bats.I also don't want to give him a false sense of skill when the bat is actually responsible for some of the hits.

Metropop, I like your advice regarding 3 Ps.

Sugi, I agree that many parents want to buy their kids a hot bat. I confess that I was one of those dads.

We work a ton on mechanics but I refuse to send my son out on the field without equipment that gives him the best advantage of succeeding. We will play in a few wood bat tournaments this year, and I will still get him as good a quality wood bat as I can. If the sanctioning bodies go to "Wal-Mart" quality bats, then I will be glad to get him one of those, then, but until that happens I want to send him out there with the bat he will be the most successful with. I have ordered him a -5 Exo for Christmas. 32/27. I like the Louisvile Slugger bats because I think they have the best balance between performance and durability.

Nothing wrong with that at all southpaw. Of course you want your kid to have the best you can afford to give him. I have always like the Louisville Slugger bats because they seem to have very good endurance and perform just as well as the other bats. Metal bats will allow you to have more success than wood bats I dont think anyone will argue that. What I like about training with wood is it will not allow you to have success unless you square it up properly. And learning to square the ball up properly with wood makes you a much better hitter. And if your a much better hitter and you put metal in your hands well you just got alot better.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach May:
Metal bats will allow you to have more success than wood bats I dont think anyone will argue that. What I like about training with wood is it will not allow you to have success unless you square it up properly. And learning to square the ball up properly with wood makes you a much better hitter. And if your a much better hitter and you put metal in your hands well you just got alot better.

I agree 100% with that statement.