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130 replies

Best BBCOR?

Stats4GnatsStats4Gnats10,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by bobball:
Hard to believe a $100 bat (Plasma) is the best of them. Seems like it would throw the market for bats into a tizzy. Will have a look.


Why? The BBCOR standard doesn’t allow for a lot of performance leeway. I mean wood is wood. So the only way one company is going to be able to draw more customers, is by offering models with different “FEELS” and different “LOOKS”, which may or may not translate into better performance.
KaizenKaizen100+ posts
quote:
Why? The BBCOR standard doesn’t allow for a lot of performance leeway. I mean wood is wood. So the only way one company is going to be able to draw more customers, is by offering models with different “FEELS” and different “LOOKS”, which may or may not translate into better performance.


Agree. When I was shopping around for a BBCOR last year, I started paying attention to what the local college players were using. They are sponsored by Easton and were provided with bot the Surge and Rival models. Because the players don't have to pay for the bats, cost is not an issue and they will pick whichever bat performs best for them.

The Surge costs $100 more than the Rival, so you would assume it's a "better" bat. But while 5 hitters were using the Surge, 4 chose to use the Rival. Which leads me to believe that performance is not much different between the high end bats and the second-tier bats.
EdgarFanEdgarFan500+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by Tx-Husker:

quote:
Originally posted by dpexpress9u:

"We have both rip it bats and the red one is the best. Has anyone heard about it being banned. That's the reason I got the prototype 2."


"From what I understand, you're ok if you have the 'recertified' marking on it.


Both the original (red) Prototype (described as "recertified", and $100 cheaper than the (white) Prototype II are available at the linked retailer (and probably some, but not all - I found some only carrying the Prototype II) in 2012 versions. Does anybody know if there were any changes made to the red original? A couple (a small minority, but a few) commenters on the Prototype II said they thought it was more end-weighted than the original, and had less pop.

Would love to hear from anybody who has swung both (especially in 2012 versions, i.e., the "recertified" Prototype I) or who knows more about what if any changes came about because of that recertification process.
NR nolan ryan500+ posts
Wanted to bump this up to see if anyone had any updates/thoughts/reviews on the new Rawlings 5150's - The Machine and/or the Velo. Freshman son hit and likes the original 5150. Getting ready to start up winter workouts and need a new bbcor. I see that Baseball Plus Store website has the Machine on sale for $250 and the Velo for $200. He is set on the 5150 just trying to figure out which one to get. Thanks
M MDteX10+ posts
I posted this in the Marucci thread.


quote:
My son received his Marucci Black this week. The look on his face during the first swings in the cage were priceless. He is absolutely in love. I guess it won't be going on eBay after all.

During the summer and this fall he has tried several different bats. 5150, Exo, Nike, Easton something (the cheap one everyone likes), Voodoo and Rip-It Prototype II and probably one or two others I missed. The leader of all those was the Rip-It. He really liked it and it performed well. Better than all the others. It was tops on his list until he got the Black.

He says the Black is even better. The ball definitely was jumping. I guess we will see how it holds up in the long run but it is a quality bat with great performance.



So far the Marucci Black has been his fav of all the BBCORs he has tried. Just a little better than the Rip-It Prototype II. He did think the Prototype II had the best grip of any bat loves the Black and how it performs for him.
W WhoDatMember
Was able to get 10 different bbcor bats from local sports store. Easton S2, rip it, 5150, 5150 velo, voodoo, worth toxic, z1000, omaha, vexxum, and m2m. Boys really liked the 5150 velo. 5150 and rip it were a close 2nd, followed by the toxic and ommaha.
Waiting to try the marucci's before any decisions are made.
I would say from the front toss position it looks like the ball jumps off the 5150's and rip it best.
I know UW-Whitewater uses the rip it.
bballdad2016bballdad20161,000+ posts
Still undecided. My son is still hitting BP with wood, and used a Voodoo-black and a Marucci-black in a recent tourney (last weekend). He hit the Voodoo like Doodoo, and the Marucci, well he only took that to the plate once. They were bats from other players, and most of the team hit REALLY well with the Voodoo and only one kid hit the Marucci with any sort of "command". The final game of the tourney, many kids decided to hit with wood and did very well. Much better than using the Voodoo or Marucci. So, anyhow, i talked to my son and told him it is not the "name" or company that makes the bat and he proved it by hitting the coveted (in his mind) Voodoo like "Doodoo" as i like to remind him. He now understands "it is the archer and not the arrow."
T TheCodeMember
The days of the"magic bat" are gone. There s no perfect bat for anyone. My son likes the Marucci. He has used the Cat 5 Squared all summer and fall. His new black Marucci should be here any day. He uses Marucci wood bats and says that the Marucci metal bats swing like the wood bats so he likes them. Several kids have used his. Some really like it, some don't. The big difference with the new bats is that the hitter's mental game has to change. They are not going to be able to just get up there and try to burn someone. Situational hitting will become more important. Not everyone is a power hitter. Hitters are going to have to learn that and play their game. Learn how to hit opposite field and drive the gaps.
bballdad2016bballdad20161,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by Doughnutman:
I've brought it up before, scouts like 450 ft HR's. Why be a line drive hitter?


I agree, the long ball is always impressive. But I think every hitter needs to be a smart hitter, and trying to put one out and resulting in a fly-out is not always the smartest thing to do. I would argue that scouts like the 450 ft HR and the ability to line drive behind the runner... from the same hitter. Hitting is situational and every player has their "job" so to speak in the lineup.
NR nolan ryan500+ posts
We bought the 5150 Velo. Son really likes it. The thing is very LOUD. Kind of a pingy sound - like the original metal bats way back. He switches between that and wood. I like the wood better - easier on the ears! The end is real straight, not rounded. Looks like it could cut a ball if you hit it off the end.
He attended an indoor camp this week. Of the 25 or so kids there, I saw 6-7 5150 Velo's. Looked like the most popular bbcor bat.
K krewMember
Are there any updates on the bats you are using? My son is a freshman and tryouts are Feb 15. I would like to get him a bat in the next couple of days. The bats I've been looking at , rip it, marucci cat5, 5150,also the plasma based on the reviews from this site. Everyone that was high on the plasma a month ago still feel the same? Thanks for any and all updates. Mike
P Prime91,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by NCCSbaseball:
Marucci Cat 5, in my opinion is the best bbcor, it has very little sting and good pop for a bbcor. Plus its $100 less than the Voodoo or Omaha or 5150.


PrimeJr's team going into second season with BBCORS & just completed FALL reps with Easton & DeMarini 2012 models. Last year favorite was Rawlings 5150. Concensus opinion from his team this year is a preference for the Voodoos... per him; "they are better." Remember, however, it's just one players or one teams opinion.
Last edited by Prime9
bballdad2016bballdad20161,000+ posts
Krew,

We played through the winter on a team that had the following bats, well the players on the team had them (not "team" bats).

2012 Voodoo: The kid that owns it, hates it. The Lrger framed kids loved it. There were a few games where that bat never left the batters box. One kid would hit, drop the bat and the on deck hitter would grab it to use.

Marucci black: Kid that owns it loves it. The team seems to prefer it if they can not get to the Voodoo in time.

5150: My kid loves it, a few on the team have started to take it to the plate, many kids use it in practice.

Easton Typhoon: The owner seems to like it, it is all he swings. I have not seen anyone but the owner use it.

Easton Hammer: Same as Typhoon.

From what i have seen over the last three months with multiple games and practices, all of the above bats produced hard hit balls, home runs, line drives, etc. I will say that many kids prefer a specific bat for whatever reason (feel, confidence?). IE: 4 home runs were hit with the Voodoo in the last tournament. My son can not hit the ball out of the infield with that bat, but does quite well with his 5150. FWIW - the owner of the voodoo replaced his game bat with the new 2012 Easton XL1. I wonder if he will continue to bring the voodoo for the rest of the team. It all comes down to what the batter prefers in his hands. Hope this helps.
Last edited by bballdad2016
bballdad2016bballdad20161,000+ posts
On a side note - the Voodoo was the most used bat by the entire team. I would estimate 7 out of 10 in the line up used the voodoo... so naturally that bat had the best performance by volume, but i wonder if the Voodoo was not a choice. Would the Marucci have been the go to bat. Maybe the Easton Hammer would have had more use, thus putting up better numbers for that particular bat. Short version, i believe it is all in the batter and what he prefers to swing, rather than a specific bat. There is no one size fits all.
S Selkirk100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by krew:
Are there any updates on the bats you are using? My son is a freshman and tryouts are Feb 15. I would like to get him a bat in the next couple of days. The bats I've been looking at , rip it, marucci cat5, 5150,also the plasma based on the reviews from this site. Everyone that was high on the plasma a month ago still feel the same? Thanks for any and all updates. Mike


At $89.00 shipped my son is giving the plasma a try.
No game use yet, only bp. But he and all the other players really like it so far. Time will tell, but at 89 bucks it hard not to try.
bballdad2016bballdad20161,000+ posts
Doughnutman - nice to hear the Plasma is performing well for you guys. Believe it or not, i have not been able to find one in a store (to pick up with my own hands) and i have not seen one in action yet. Glad to hear it is performing for you guys. FWIW, i would have loved to see if my son would have liked it as much as the 5150... I could have save a few bucks. LOL.
Last edited by bballdad2016
TrumanTruman5,000+ posts
My son's college team was given the opportunity to choose the make of bat that the team will use this season as they were pretty disappointed with what they had last year (feeling that their BBCOR bats weren't performing as well as most of the other team's bats). The coach brought in reps from all the different manufacturers and the kids tried out all the different bats to see which one they felt performed the best in their batting practices. The team overwhelmingly chose the Muracci and my son, being particularly selective when it comes to bat performance, felt the Muracci had the best feel and seemed to have a slightly larger sweet spot that the closest competitor. A bat can feel and even perform a little different from one player to the next. But it was interesting to me that almost all the players on my son's team felt the Muracci bats performed best in their subjective testing.
Buckeye 2015Buckeye 201510,000+ posts
We had a chance to demo the Marucci Cat 5 and the Black....and also all 6 of the Eastons. The Cat 5 was the overwhelming favorite. Not one kid chose Easton....in fact a couple kids said they'd prefer to hit wood over the Easton. We didn't see any noticeable difference between the Cat 5 and the Black....certainly not enough to justify the difference in cost.
D Doughnutman1,000+ posts
My son swings the Plasma and for the price it can't be beat. Yesterday in practice a couple of kids had the new Marucci Black. Son said it felt and sounded like the BESR's. He loved it as did all of his teamates. It is a good thing that two teamates swing 34's. And their parents are rich. I think my son is planning on using their bats all season. Big Grin
B baseball_fever100+ posts
If the goal was to make the bat more uniform and mimic wood to reduce injury potential - how can one bat be better/have more pop than another bat? Has one bat company pushed the performance to the peak/optimum and another has not? More sweet spot etc? I don't get it when the goal was to have more bat performance uniformity. If a bat performs like a BESR - what gives? Just curious.
Last edited by baseball_fever
'15 Dad'15 Dad100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by baseball_fever:
Has one bat company pushed the performance to the peak/optimum and another has not?


I think it is mostly how well a manufacturer designs the bat within the standards but also the subjective preference of the hitter, based on the the weight balance, sound, etc. In particular BBCOR does not limit the size of the sweet spot to that of a wood bat, one big way in which BBCOR bats can vary and perform better than wood.

The first BBCORs on the market last year were worse than this year's. The standard is the same, but the manufacturer's got better at maximizing performance within the set limits. Also, the BBCOR standard is measured as a mechanical test not by a batter hitting a pitch. To the extent the test does not accurately simulate any key aspects of actual hitting, it may be that some manufactures, by luck or by design, have come up with bats that perform better in real life use while still passing the mechanical test. BESR bats did that by passing the test when new and then getting hotter after break-in during game use.
ShelbyShelby1,000+ posts


*Rip-It Prototype II* Well...after struggling to locate one of these bats...end cap cracked completely! First swing...and it wasn't even by our son! He still thinks he wants one. Will try and replaceit & see... Otherwise gonna get our 2013 (5'11" / 190 lb.) Power Hitter, the Rawlings (2012) 5150 Velo or Machine.
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