My son loves his McDougall bats. Great warranty for a wood bat at five months, accepted in wooden bat tournament’s for perfect game and he also just likes the aesthetics. Great bats.
I Just ordered a McDougall bat for my son. When I call the company to ask questions about the bat and warranty, the owner picked up the phone and answered any questions I had. Great customer service.
TagMeOut posted:I Just ordered a McDougall bat for my son. When I call the company to ask questions about the bat and warranty, the owner picked up the phone and answered any questions I had. Great customer service.
The owner is a member here (John MacDougall). Seems like a very sound investment if you're playing a bunch of WWBA tournaments, and/or if you just love the sound of wood. With that BBCOR stamp he'll be able to use it almost anywhere. And the joinery is really beautiful. I hope you didn't order yours with a painted barrel. 
We have the Marucci CAT9 baseball bat and we love it. My son loves it and uses it often, his ball goes a lot further when hit with this stick.
Hands down the Baum bat was our choice. Great pop, my son says its not much of a downtick from his Marucci CAT9 comp bat, and is unbreakable. Depends on the kid obviously but mine would break 1-2 per tournament and the costs began to add up. The Baum bat is expensive ($250) for wood but my son has used it for three years now and claims it still has the same pop.
I've seen some kids break at least one per tournament. Always makes me wonder of the kids who break them frequently are holding the bat correctly, just have bad luck, or jam themselves.
From what I can tell, you get what you pay for. I rarely see a Victus Pro Reserve break. I see the $50 models break all the time.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:I've seen some kids break at least one per tournament. Always makes me wonder of the kids who break them frequently are holding the bat correctly, just have bad luck, or jam themselves.
From what I can tell, you get what you pay for. I rarely see a Victus Pro Reserve break. I see the $50 models break all the time.
By post soph summer my son played all wood bat. I bought him three LS243. They retailed for about $50 each (would be $75 now). The store sold me 3 for $105. The three bats lasted the summer.
One time my son was on deck and couldn’t find his bat. At the last second a teammate tossed his bat to him. It was a $150 bat. My son broke it.
Note: It’s amazing how many old posts get revived by posters with 10+ posts. They’re new posters who don’t notice how old the post is. Whose going to break the recent record where a new poster revived a threat from 2008?
BaumBat fan here. Check their legality. They have changed ownership, dont know about the newest ones. Cost more but less than 3 maruccis
My boys have been swinging the Marucci Pro Cut, and Bringer of Rain. They seem to be durable and have held up for a year or so now. We had a BWP, but that one broke at the handle on a squared up fastball.
wood bats break...when they are younger not as many break due lack of velo and swing speeds. it is pretty simple.
- bad swings and good pitching brake bats
- bad swings vs bad pitching break less but still break
- good swings will get you much more shelf life
- the more aggressive the swing is the more breaks you will get when they make a bad one. it is just a by product of swing speed.
moral...make good swings and have couple spares.
@old_school posted:wood bats break...when they are younger not as many break due lack of velo and swing speeds. it is pretty simple.
- bad swings and good pitching brake bats
- bad swings vs bad pitching break less but still break
- good swings will get you much more shelf life
- the more aggressive the swing is the more breaks you will get when they make a bad one. it is just a by product of swing speed.
moral...make good swings and have couple spares.
Certain turn models can also effect breakage rates. Kid got use to the swing weight of a JC24 Victus. That bat lasted from late summer through the entire fall, but the handle on it is relatively thick compared to others. Guys that like the more end-loaded thin handle models have a lot less room for error.
On second thought, I actually don't mind him breaking really expensive wood bats, that is as long as he is pitching....
@old_school posted:wood bats break...when they are younger not as many break due lack of velo and swing speeds. it is pretty simple.
- bad swings and good pitching brake bats
- bad swings vs bad pitching break less but still break
- good swings will get you much more shelf life
- the more aggressive the swing is the more breaks you will get when they make a bad one. it is just a by product of swing speed.
moral...make good swings and have couple spares.
Plus, the better pitching you face at higher velocity (high school pro prospects) the more likely the hitter is to get sawed off.
My son’s 16u team players on the bench used to make a Black and Decker noise when their pitcher broke bats.
Demarini maple wood composite bats are great first wood bats. Have that composite make up so they are difficult to break. The D110 model is very light swinging. They are a little cheaper than a Baum. They have several different turn models you can choose from.
Tucci Lumber makes great bats, and if you call the office you will most likely speak with Peter and he can guide you on models.
Buy at least 2.
2021 was a rising freshman at first wood bat event. About 4-5 players had bats sawn off on Day 1. Needless to say we went out and bought a Louisville Slugger before eating dinner that night to have a spare on hand!
His old coach makes all of his bats now so we buy a few each spring—AP5 turn in both Ash and Birch.
Have fun in the wood bat leagues!
@Los Angeles 2021 Parent posted:Buy at least 2.
2021 was a rising freshman at first wood bat event. About 4-5 players had bats sawn off on Day 1. Needless to say we went out and bought a Louisville Slugger before eating dinner that night to have a spare on hand!
His old coach makes all of his bats now so we buy a few each spring—AP5 turn in both Ash and Birch.
Have fun in the wood bat leagues!
Buy three bats. Then you have a backup for the one that will inevitably break.
@RJM posted:Buy three bats. Then you have a backup for the one that will inevitably break.
My son always has 3. Back in July a kid on his team had broken his only 2 in the same game. My son let him borrow the backup Victus JC24 Pro Reserve. Broke it on the first swing. Kid broke 3 bats in one game.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:My son always has 3. Back in July a kid on his team had broken his only 2 in the same game. My son let him borrow the backup Victus JC24 Pro Reserve. Broke it on the first swing. Kid broke 3 bats in one game.
I had a kid on my 16u team who was a notorious bat killer at the plate and on the mound. His nickname was Black & Decker. He became a pitcher in college.
when mine played in wood bat league, he had 3....2 regular wood bat and the Baum...believe it or not, one game he broke 2 and was down to the Baum
Baum Bat 100%. Got mine in the mail today and it feels so good and balanced. I feel nothing in my hands when hitting and it has a lot of pop.
Another vote for Baum. Son was swinging the Marucci Posey model (end load, thin handle) -- broke far too many to keep going with that. He loves the Baum and it really seems indestructible.
@Baseball Dad 22 posted:Another vote for Baum. Son was swinging the Marucci Posey model (end load, thin handle) -- broke far too many to keep going with that. He loves the Baum and it really seems indestructible.
which baum did he get? my son likes endloaded bats. for wood, he was swinging 318i last year and now swings a -1 k55. he tried a teammate's baum and didn't like it at all bc it was too light.
He got the end loaded version that they started selling last year. He likes it but it isn’t as end loaded as the Posey. During HS season he swings the Victus Nox which he says is a much heavier swing weight.
Son always preferred the Baum, can't remember the model.
I wasn't clear on the Black and Decker references or how it related to baseball that were being made in this thread. I was thinking sanding or shaping them. I typed it in the search window and this old thread from 2007 came up, quite interesting. That's way before my time joining here.