Heavy bat for growing boy

-5 are great bats. My son son swings a 32" -5 and loves it. He also has a 32" -3 which he can swing but he has better control with the -5. Last weekend at a tourney he switched back and forth and found that with 2 strikes on him he was much better off with the -5 because he could foul off or hit pitches that were borderline strikes or even out of the strike zone. He also uses a 32" wood bat at home off a T and solo hitter to build up strength.

Check ebay for bargains on bats - new or used. Do not make the mistake of buying a bat he will "grow into". If cost is a concern buy a used -5. BTW, the -5 Vexxum is excellent and the silver/green Stealth. We also have a -5 Miken ESD Burn I may be selling on Ebay soon that is pretty good ( not broken in yet).

My son swings a 31/28 exogrid and he loves it. At first I was a little worried that it might be a tad heavy, but his batting has actually improved since we made the change.

My 12 (13 next yr) got a 32 / 24 (-8) Exo to use for Babe ruth and AAU next year. He will use a friends -3 for school ball next year. He likes the control of his lighter bat but will switch to a -3 for the slower pitchers. He doesn't feel a huge difference between the two really. He is only a 7th grader so most of his ball will be AAU & Babe Ruth vs school ball for the upcoming season, thats why we went with the lighter bat. The EXO is a great bat, ball jumps off of it.

I believe a -8 is way to light for 13U. -5 should be the biggest drop if a kid just can't handle a -3 drop. In two years he'll be in high school swinging a -3. Our middle schools had to use -3's so my son also used the -3 in USSSA. At 5'2", 105 he didn't have a problem, so I believe anyone can do it if they work at it. USSSA required -3 at 14U.

JR swung a 31/28 in 13U fall ball at 5 feet, 95 pounds. He's used a 32/29 since 13U at 5'2", 105. He's 5'9", 130 now. He's real quick with the same bat in 15U fall ball (also playing up to 16U and 17U). Don't forget the pitching is going to get a lot better when facing quality competition as your kids develop. A quick trigger becomes very important. My son plays USSSA Majors.

I think TG is right on here. My oldest son used -8.5 in 11u and 12u, then a -5 this year in 13u. This fall he's onto a 31/28 exogrid which he will use for Freshman ball next Spring. This seems to be a pretty common path.

We've experimented with so many bats the last several years that you really get to know their characteristics. Demarini makes the most durable bats, no dings dents or anything. Stealths are really good, not as top heavy as the Demarini and the ball jumps a bit more. My 13u son hit several balls over 300 ft with a -5 Stealth this year. Exogrids are very good too, but the best Louisville Slugger bat we've found is the 2005 Warrior (before they downgraded the Warrior name to the low end bat it is today). The 2005 Warriors just crush the ball. We've got several kids on our 11u team that still use them, including my son. We had a big home run derby at a field with 200 ft fences and every single kid's longest home run was hit with the old warriors.

Best of luck, and go with the -5 if you can find a decent price (hard to do since there aren't many on the market).

Jon

quote:

the best Louisville Slugger bat we've found is the 2005 Warrior (before they downgraded the Warrior name to the low end bat it is today)

Yes! I bought a -3 Warrior for my son to start swinging a couple of years ago at 13U. He is using the Exo now as a freshman HS, but he loves his old Warrior.

Uh oh - TG is an old timer now!

TG has now moved over to the dark side. No, wait, this is the dark side. What was I thinking?

quote:

Originally posted by 2Bmom:
Uh oh - TG is an old timer now!

I may have to come back with a new name. I think it's a silly title. It's like birthdays. I'm not any smarter or more experienced than my previous post. Will you non-coms still talk to me?

I wonder if it will upset the real old timers. "One of them there newer posters has moved into the neighborhood." Watch for the for sale signs to go up. Maybe they will up the level to keep me out of the neighborhood. Do I have to place a avatar next to my name now? I can't wait to eat at "the club."

Better to go with a -3 as soon as they can. The fall my son moved to 13U, still 12 at the time went right to a -3 32/29 bat. He got used to it very quickly and moving to 60', the extra 14' distance from mound coupled with pitching speeds down gave time to swing bat.. He swings a -3 31oz

quote:

Originally posted by TG:
I'm not any smarter or more experienced than my previous post.

Right.

quote:

Originally posted by TG:
I wonder if it will upset the real old timers. "One of them there newer posters has moved into the neighborhood." Watch for the for sale signs to go up. Maybe they will up the level to keep me out of the neighborhood. Do I have to place a avatar next to my name now? I can't wait to eat at "the club."

Naw, but you could still get trolled off.

Welcome to the club.

I look at the date registered anyway

Let's not make too much of this. It was a joke response to a joke question. I don't go by when someone joined. I sort out what they say and decide if it makes sense.

My son used a -5 at 14. Then in HS freshman fall ball did struggle a little bit with -3. Not sure if that was the bat or the way league was set-up with no umps, and catcher calling balls and strikes. However, by the time the spring season that counted rolled around he was fine.