Composite Bats

My kid was never a fan of all composite bats.  He would tend to use the two piece - composite handle, aluminum barrel.  His HS bat is 1 pc. aluminum velo -- it makes a distinctive sound when you hit a bomb.  So he stands out.     

 

Edit:  kI'd uses 5150 alum.  Not velo.  He tried both and the all alum was better for him. 

I wouldn't get caught up in the bat arms race.  Legal bats are regulated and pretty similar, but many dads roll or shave the bats and the kids hit balls that "make you go wow", but it's cheating and it catches up to them later.  I don't think its a good idea for a kid to believe that a bat makes him a better hitter - this takes away ownership and accountability for results.

At the HS level with the BBCOR standard in place, there is absolutely ZERO advantage to either Composite or Alloy... It's all about personal preference, aesthetics, weight distribution, handle-thickness, etc....

 

 

Thanks smitty, that was kind of what I was thinking of as well.  I will tell what though, we got him a cheapo wood 32" adult wood bat to use during batting practice (for part of it, not all) to build up his arm strength.  Man, can he swing with that!  He can hit almost as far with that as he does his aluminum.  He actually wanted to use that during his games (but can't because of the barrel diameter).  I was also thinking it would be nice to have the youth just use wood bats, but then I guess their hitting wouldn't be all that impressive.

That is interesting, Bolts.  I wasn't aware of that.  Thanks

The hottest bat on the planet only adds percentages to the distance. So the harder a kid hits the more effect it has. With that said most ten year olds will see a 5 to 6 foot difference between the best and worst bat. When they can hit a ball 300' it will make more of a difference. Even with that with BBCOR there won't be much difference in HS. Personally (and I've hit just about every bat out) I think aluminum hits harder than composite with BBCOR.

Anyway with 10 year olds I do feel there is one benifit to composite. They tend to have much less sting. I've seen a lot of kids slow their swing down because of sting.

Scotty, thanks.  That is good information.  My son is on the bigger then average side and only once in a great while (during bp) complains about the "sting".  I have been told by some people that have played in the minors that he has some very quick hands.  While exciting to hear, I realize that he and his peers have yet to hit puberty so anything can happen between now and then.

Strict and foolproof:  The BBCOR test for adult bats places a strict limitation on the amount of trampoline effect allowed in a bat, and the test is hard to fool. 

 

Lenient and easy-to-fool:  The BPF test for youth bats places a lenient limitation on the amount of trampoline effect allowed in a bat, and the test is easy to fool.

 

IMHO, where youth bats are concerned,  this explains why money can buy you significant increases in performance (distance).

 

 

In my opinion I would take the money you would spend on a top dollar bat and invest it in batting lessons.  In the long run you will get more for your money if your kid has a good swing vs. a very expensive bat.  Over my years of coaching youth teams (LL and travel) I have always maintained the idea that "A good bat will help a good hitter but a great bat will not make a kid a hitter".

 

 

I'm with Smitty28 - don't get caught up in the arms race.  I told my kid when he started hitting the ball where he wanted it to go 90% of the time, then we'd discuss what he wanted so he could hit it harder where he wanted.  Last I checked all the barrels are round so no problem there.  I did not want my kid blaming his hitting slumps on not having the most expensive bat.

 

That said, what is "rolling" and "shaving"?  Also, on the wooden bat scene, I read somewhere that you can extend the life by applying pressure - sort of like taking a rolling pin and rolling the bat.  Apparently this helps prevent flaking???  Anyone heard of such a thing?

Its called "boning" the bat and it compresses the natural grains in the wood.  Any smooth surface (like a glass bottle) that is harder than wood will do the trick.  It is my understanding that it doesn't work as well on maple as it does ash since the grains are different

Shaving is a process that uses a computer controlled lathe to literally shave metal off the inner wall of the bat to make the batter thinner and give it more trampoline effect.  It is very sophisticated, its very dangerous for the defensive players, and its cheating.  They'll even melt down the shavings into a slug and glue it to the inside of the end cap so the bat's weight is unchanged.  It is very difficult to detect, but a tell-tale sign is when all the kids on a team use the same bat - ie, they literally drop their own bat in the on deck circle and pick up the previous batter's bat laying on the ground at home plate.

Interesting about the wood bad "boning".  This site is great.  I did not grow up playing the game, but have really enjoyed watching my sons play and am learning a lot.  I am not as hard on my son as I once although I set my expectations pretty high for him and he is able to meet them.  I am not pressuring him, but he is able to hit 75-85 mph balls at the cages and myself and another dad throw really hard to him at BP.  The other dad throws sliders and curves to him and he is able to hit them well.  Most of all I just really enjoy watching him, he has great baseball smarts and is not afraid.  The last two call up games he had an at bat that started 0-2 and the one he drilled a deep hit to the outfield and the other he managed a BOE.  There have been a few times where he has attempted to make a double play, but the other person wasn't ready to make the catch so he had to hold onto the ball.  Anyway, thanks for all your knowledge.

Some of it is personal preference and feel just like difference between ash, birch, maple...or in golf stiff versus flex shaft.

My son personally never liked them after swinging the dimerrini voodoo and went to a nike m1 all aluminim bat and had no trouble hitting balls up to 350 or more with it...when the boys at school told him he was swinging a dead (worn out) bat he switched to a Rawlings 5150 which is also a solid aluminum bat..he hits  HRs every BP and one even 400+ and he is 150 lbs...so let him use what he feels comfortable with that has good balance and worry more about squaring it up than the bat type.

Hope this helps.

       
       

At our 14U tournament last week BBCOR bats were required. One team with a mako in literally every bag kept using the same Louisville omaha. That team hit 9 hrs. No other team hit any. This was majors division. When someone on our team asked if the bat was hot one of the players on our team who plays school ball with two of their's laughed his butt of and said normally those two cant hit the ball out of the infield. It was pretty obvious it was a shaved bat. The team they played in the championship game has a moster pitcher throwing mid 80's. He told the other team first kid that steps in the box with that bat gets drilled. They didn't use that bat and got killed. However with that kid pitching I don't think any bat would have mattered.

Scotty83 - you have to share more!  Exactly how does one go about contracting a job to shave a bat?  Would any self respecting metal shop do the job as long as they got paid or is this generally reserved for folks that have connections?  I don't like to think of myself as naive, but I would never have imagined a real team would go down this path.  Does the coach of the team you mentioned not have any reputation to protect or is it run by a rouge dad?

LOL... Yeah, something was definitely a little off... 

I can't imagine shaving being cheap either.  That is just crazy

You can find bat shaving and rolling services on eBay. There are even people with websites devoted to these services.

I have known players and teams that use these "hot" bats and they definitely have more pop. They are also definitely dangerous and absolutely illegal, not to mention expensive.

Bottom line is they are used by cheaters with inferior skills and weak minds with no integrity. If you can't hit, maybe soccer or lacrosse are more the game for you (apologies to soccer and LAX players).

My kid is 12u, and I call those composite bats "Million Dollar Bats".  My son likes the ping sound of the composite bats but hates that you can't use them if the weather drops under 60*F.  Not such a problem in GA, but has been known to cause a few glitches with parents trying to run around getting bat warmers and such...I will agree it cuts down on the sting factor.

 

If you want to compromise with your kid and let him try a composite bat go to a used sports equipment store and let him get a 2 year old model for a fraction of the cost...or you can hit up the richest 11u kid you know for his last years bat at half the cost.

 

You don't have to buy a million dollar bat to compete, just to look cool.  Also a word of caution...there is a certain very popular bat manufacturer that says their bats are drop 10 but in reality while the length is correct the weight is usually heavier by 2-3 ounces so your kid actually winds up swinging a drop 8....just be sure you know what you are getting.

If you don't want to break the bank, buy an older model of bat. Something 2-3 years older, but still new in the wrapper.

eBay is a great source for them, as are some other clearance/wholesale websites.

On the bat shaving services, the internet is full of these type services.  Saw one where they walk you through the process (including a very forthright statement that this process makes bats illegal in basically all leagues) and gives some selling points on why no one will ever find out.  Apparently they put a finish in the inside of the bat to reduce the appearence if any machining and they are careful in removing the cap as well as using really strong glue when putting it back on.  They will let you either sent them your bat or they actually purchase new bats, shave them and then make them avaialble for sale.  They pride themselves in using a lathe and state that sanding services are inferior (inferior cheats? classy).  They also do rolling services and say that the jury is out on this process as it technically is not illegal - sort of like breaking the bat in.  Not even that expensive ($100) when compared to new bat prices.  Not sure I will ever look at a team the same when everyone is using the same bat.  Another website says these are for home run derby only, sort of like the corked bat used by Sammy Sosa (apparently only meant to use it to show off during BP).

I hear a lot of people say this.  I also read that anything that changes the performance of the bat is illegal, and clearly rolling changes the performance of the bat (otherwise people wouldn't do it, right?).  I think this is rationalizing behavior people know is wrong.