First wood bat recommendations

During our annual Goodwill Series in Australia and New Zealand each year our 2 teams play 12 games with SSK maple bats. The Pitchers are from Professional, National and State teams. We compute 750 at bats. The average # of broken bats is 6 bats. Our players are taught how to use the bat. We use broken bats [taped] or the SSK "BP" bat in batting practice.

The S-1 and 271 models have a very narrow handle and will break when hitting on the handle. The #243 {Bonds model] allows the hands to be place 1"-2" off knob for bat control and quicker swing. you can use a longer bat with 1" extra hitting surface.

Bob

Solution: go to a real baseball shop. Not Dicks, but a place with a cage where you can take hacks with a demo. See what feels good. Buy it. Asking for recommendations here is of little use, it's like buying shoes, on size does not fit all.

If you want to ensure you aren't buying 15 bats over the next 3-5 years, buy a Baum Bat. Those suckers are virtually indestructible and can be used at all events up to and including MiLB

I agree with the Victus. My kid has a 32" 2.5 drop axe handle Victus. He is more of a line drive hitter and he loves it.

My son has the SSK...loves it tons of pop...however, he carries his Baum bat with him for insurance..

Baum bats are great too unfortunately not allowed in some of the wood bat tourneys near me

I went with a cheap bat off of amazon.  I think it was called the Easton Brigade or something like that.  They have ash and maple and I wanted to see which my kid preferred.  I also wasn't going to be bent if he broke the $35, I would have serious issues if he broke a $150 bat.

Definitely agree with the Baum Bat recommendation.  But I have seen some tourneys that won't allow them.  Look for rules notes that disallow "composite" bats.  I think PG's WWBA tourneys are among those that don't permit them.  Sometimes it goes undetected, but you may need to have at least one other bat at the ready.

I also recommend buying one of the cheapest wood bats you can find, then taping the barrel, so that you have something to use in BP, especially if you like to use mechanized batting cages with those hard rubber balls.  You can even use a cracked bat if you use glue, a tack and some tape.  This gets the player acclimated to the different weight and feel of a wood bat, without putting your expensive purchase at risk just for practice.  Use white tape on the barrel, as this has the added benefit of letting you see where contact is being made and whether it is or isn't on the sweet spot.

This may sound weird to some, but I weigh my son's wood bats on a kitchen scale.  I mark the weight in the cup at the end of each bat with a Sharpie.  You'd think they'd be more or less -3, but that is far from the case.  He has bats that range from -0 to -5+.  I find that the more expensive bats that I buy individually (doesn't matter the brand - Marucci, Old Hickory, Louisville Slugger, etc.) tend to be heavier and closer to -2 to -3.  I find that the bats I buy that are "deals"  such as bat packs (3 for $200, etc) tend to be lighter.

Perhaps I have fallen for the marketing, but I don't think so since I've never seen an ad discussing weight.  I became aware of this when I visited the Marucci factory a couple years ago and they talked about how hard it was to find just the right billet to make Albert Pujol's bats at his specified weight and with the best, straightest grain.

Another thing I learned is that ash bats are lighter than maple.   Ash also sounds different, more like a swatting sound rather than a loud crack you get from maple.  I think sound matters (who hasn't seen heads turn when you hear a loud crack on an adjacent field?).

Now I bring a kitchen scale to Monkey Sports and get the bats with the weight we want.

Midlo Dad posted:

Definitely agree with the Baum Bat recommendation.  But I have seen some tourneys that won't allow them.  Look for rules notes that disallow "composite" bats.  I think PG's WWBA tourneys are among those that don't permit them.  Sometimes it goes undetected, but you may need to have at least one other bat at the ready.

I also recommend buying one of the cheapest wood bats you can find, then taping the barrel, so that you have something to use in BP, especially if you like to use mechanized batting cages with those hard rubber balls.  You can even use a cracked bat if you use glue, a tack and some tape.  This gets the player acclimated to the different weight and feel of a wood bat, without putting your expensive purchase at risk just for practice.  Use white tape on the barrel, as this has the added benefit of letting you see where contact is being made and whether it is or isn't on the sweet spot.

From PG WWBA Bat Rules for upcoming Labor Day Classic:

The following are the only composite bats allowed:

Rawlings

5150 Composite Pro Wood WC5150

Big Stick R243CH

Big Stick R243CS

VELO Composite Wood R110CV

VELO Composite Wood R110CH

VELO Composite Wood R110CR

VELO Composite Wood Y151CV

Rawlings Composite 243MBS

Rawlings Maple/Bamboo Composite 271 MBC

Rawlings Maple/Bamboo Composite SL151G

Baum

AAA Pro Baum Bat

DeMarini

Models: D243, D271, I13, D110

MacDougall

PowerWood

Marucci

AP5 Hybrid Pro Model

Baum for cage work is great for multiple wood reps. I also think the guys at MacDougall are well worth supporting. Best looking wood bat, IMO. Love the one I got for my son. 

I recommend going with a classic. Louisville Slugger C271 Maple 33 x 30 . They go for about 120.00 you can shop around and find them for 85-100 . The C271 is a well balanced classic feel w/ end load.

Whatever you decide , go with the more expensive bats. Cheap bats are a ridiculous waste of money. They crack and break quickly.

And Always look for the ink dot. Don't buy anything without the ink dot

what does the ink dot mean? I thought it was the highest you could put pine tar on the bat..lol

The "dot" is a method to  the MLB to identify slope of the grain for the maple bat.

Bob

thx Bob...so the dot means its a high quality bat or not necessarily?

ED;

yes, that is true. The top level bat companies pay a annual fee to MLB for their bats to be sold to the ML teams. Our Goodwill Series International teams have used the SSK bat since 1983.

Bob

Not necessarily.  The ink dot is used to measure the straightness of grain from barrel to handle.  It does not guarantee that you are getting a high quality piece of wood.  The dot is also used to insure that you are hitting on the strongest part of the bat where the grains are stacked.  The dot should be pointing towards the sky when contact is made with the ball. 

SoCal OG posted:

Not necessarily.  The ink dot is used to measure the straightness of grain from barrel to handle.  It does not guarantee that you are getting a high quality piece of wood.  The dot is also used to insure that you are hitting on the strongest part of the bat where the grains are stacked.  The dot should be pointing towards the sky when contact is made with the ball. 

Not as far as MLB is concerned. MLB approved maple bats must pass the 3 degree ink dot test, and have the label placed on the edge grain (90 degrees different than the ink dot). MLB wants players to hit with the label up. Maple bats hit on the face-grain (label up) can withstand breakage about 8% better than edge grain (ink dot up). Personally, I think there may be a little better pop on maple edge grain (because it's a little more rigid), but I haven't been able to find any studies.

https://community.hsbaseballwe...t-maple-bat-confused

MidAtlanticDad posted:

SoCal OG posted:

Not necessarily.  The ink dot is used to measure the straightness of grain from barrel to handle.  It does not guarantee that you are getting a high quality piece of wood.  The dot is also used to insure that you are hitting on the strongest part of the bat where the grains are stacked.  The dot should be pointing towards the sky when contact is made with the ball. 

Not as far as MLB is concerned. MLB approved maple bats must pass the 3 degree ink dot test, and have the label placed on the edge grain (90 degrees different than the ink dot). MLB wants players to hit with the label up. Maple bats hit on the face-grain (label up) can withstand breakage about 8% better than edge grain (ink dot up). Personally, I think there may be a little better pop on maple edge grain (because it's a little more rigid), but I haven't been able to find any studies.

https://community.hsbaseballwe...t-maple-bat-confused

I think we're saying the same thing here...On bats without an ink dot, you use the label as your reference point.  You want to hit the ball 90 deg from the lable.  On bats WITH the ink dot you use the ink dot as your reference point...not the label.  What MLB found was that on Maple bats they break significantly more when not hit on the stacked grain.

However, back to the original point though.  Just because a bat has the ink dot, does NOT mean you are getting a quality piece of wood.  I promise you if you grab any ol Marucci, LS or whatever off the shelf at your local big box store, you are not getting a good piece of lumber.  

SoCal OG posted:

MidAtlanticDad posted:

SoCal OG posted:

Not necessarily.  The ink dot is used to measure the straightness of grain from barrel to handle.  It does not guarantee that you are getting a high quality piece of wood.  The dot is also used to insure that you are hitting on the strongest part of the bat where the grains are stacked.  The dot should be pointing towards the sky when contact is made with the ball. 

Not as far as MLB is concerned. MLB approved maple bats must pass the 3 degree ink dot test, and have the label placed on the edge grain (90 degrees different than the ink dot). MLB wants players to hit with the label up. Maple bats hit on the face-grain (label up) can withstand breakage about 8% better than edge grain (ink dot up). Personally, I think there may be a little better pop on maple edge grain (because it's a little more rigid), but I haven't been able to find any studies.

https://community.hsbaseballwe...t-maple-bat-confused

I think we're saying the same thing here...On bats without an ink dot, you use the label as your reference point.  You want to hit the ball 90 deg from the lable.  On bats WITH the ink dot you use the ink dot as your reference point...not the label.  What MLB found was that on Maple bats they break significantly more when not hit on the stacked grain.

However, back to the original point though.  Just because a bat has the ink dot, does NOT mean you are getting a quality piece of wood.  I promise you if you grab any ol Marucci, LS or whatever off the shelf at your local big box store, you are not getting a good piece of lumber.  

 

I don't think we are. MLB specifically required manufacturers to change the label orientation on maple bats, as compares to ash, so that players wouldn't have to think about it. That is, always turn the label up.

"For maple, which is a diffuse porous woods, the study also showed that impacts on the face-grain side resulted in an increase of about 8% in the velocity that the bats could withstand before failure relative to edge-grain side impacts."

https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/docu...pl_2012_drane001.pdf

I agree with you that the dot is not guarantee of a high quality bat. The dot is there for testing, it doesn't mean the bat passed the test. If the dot reveals a run-out of >3 degrees, then it's not good enough for the MLB. I'd like to think that bat manufacturers don't use the dot as a gimmick for retail bats, but that would probably be naive. Conversely though, there are lots of wood bats at your local big box with no ink dot. The likelihood of those bats being high quality is extremely small. You also have to worry about storage conditions with retail bats. I wouldn't want a maple bat that's been sitting in a dry, 130 degree F warehouse in Phoenix for a few months.

Call Chad at Old Hickory Bat Co. tell him you want a Black label either end loaded or balanced. They are good lumber for a great price and my kid has tried everything goes through about 5 to 7 a summer as pitchers get better bats break that's the game😉 .Swing hard let's see where it goes!!