Going to bbcor

My son turned 13 start of this last fall and moved from a 31"22oz  2 5/8 to a 30" 27oz BBCOR bat. My thinking was adding less weight was more important than losing an inch in length. He's long-armed and lanky so reach wasn't an issue. Hasn't had the magic juice from puberty yet so no the strongest kid at his age. He didn't have much problem with the transition other than being a little behind of faster pitching which I would expect. Considering he's also adjusting to 60' distance vs the 50' that would have something to do with it as well. While hitting off tee at home he uses a 28OZ wood bat and also uses some 29oz skils bats for hitting small wiffle balls.

I didn't invest a lot in this in between bat this fall, $65 new in wrapper from local shop b/c I knew I would get him another bat after this fall which now he is using a 31" 28oz during travel team hitting.

Whether right or wrong I have no idea. I think the main thing is training with a heavier bat to get stronger but then also training with the bat you expect to use in games. I don't think the reduced length had a negative effect but considering the change in distance mound-plate, I wouldn't know how to quantify and distinguish those changes.

In our 1st year of Legion baseball in Northern California, we used one bat for all players. Our players had no extra money for bats. At the end of the year the bat was dented and it was replaced by Easton. The League was the strongest in California [1982-88}. 40 future ML players.

We used broken and taped wood bats in BP. The position in the batters box is as important as the weight and length of bat {you can always choke up].  Teach you son to make self adjustments.

Bob

At 11u my son started using -8 30/22 combat maxxum.   He hit well with this bat.  He's 12u this year and I'd planned on him using -5.  30/25.  There is a noticeable drop in bat speed however.  I'm not sure if he'll be able to get it around vs good pitching.  He's 5" 2' 100 lbs. 

If I were in your situation with LL, I'd probably make sure that he practiced with wood or with a -5.  Hopefully that would prepare him for the change to -3.  I don't like the idea of going from -10 to -3. 

$tinky posted:

At 11u my son started using -8 30/22 combat maxxum.   He hit well with this bat.  He's 12u this year and I'd planned on him using -5.  30/25.  There is a noticeable drop in bat speed however.  I'm not sure if he'll be able to get it around vs good pitching.  He's 5" 2' 100 lbs. 

If I were in your situation with LL, I'd probably make sure that he practiced with wood or with a -5.  Hopefully that would prepare him for the change to -3.  I don't like the idea of going from -10 to -3. 

 

I should probably clarify my earlier statement.  At 12u my son was 5'7 and 145 pounds.  Asking him to swing a drop three the following year had more to do with his size. By the following spring he was 5'10 and 150.

If your kid isn't a giant it's best the build up gradually. 

I found that 32/29 BBCOR was manageable, as long as it was a "balanced" bat, versus a more "end loaded" bat (and my son was not a early maturing monster for his age).  Justbats.com is a great place to look at bats.  They will state whether it is balanced or end loaded. Videos and all.  Love that site.   You absolutely need to avoid the end loaded bats, as they are WAY to heavy and hard to control.  A 32/29 end loaded, feels nothing like a 32/29 balanced bat.  I found Combat bats have nice thin handles, are about the most balanced out there, feel relatively light in general for a BBCOR, and have the largest bat head/sweet spot of BBCOR bats.  Not a salesman for Combat or Just Bats.  Combat has just has always been the favorite for my boy (and we have tried them all).  Balanced, balanced, balanced.