There was a conversation between some pros the other day about the best BBCOR bats that they used to mash with. It was interesting and funny to hear them argue about it. What were the best bats when your kids played?
My son has only been using BBCOR for a couple years, but during that time I’d say the 2019 red Meta has been the best. Although the Demarini The Goods may take its place.
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There were so many, the stealth was a great bat, the voodoo was another. The S1 was also a great bat back in the day.
Not quite scientific, my kid has a 33 in LS Omaha, 34 Axe elite and the 2013 Easton S1 33 in. The max EV on the S1 was about 3 mph more and the avg EV was about the same as the 34 in Axe. This was using the pocket radar.
The best bat is when the arrow is optimized for the Indian. Your big power hitters are typically going to get the most out of their swing with a stiff end loaded bat. Everyone else should swing the red Meta😁
PTWoodson swings a Easton xl3 (34) but I wouldn’t say it’s his favorite of all time. He actually likes swinging wood!
BBCOR started the year my son hit college. It was interesting to see plenty of college recruits fail their first year. I would have thought they got enough hitting challenge with wood in the summer. As for best BBCOR bat my son was faced with, “We use DiMarinis. Love it or don’t play.” He had never liked the balance of the DiMarinis. He used an ExoGrid through high school.
One of his travel teammates got suspended over his glove at his college. He sewed the brand of the sponsored glove over the logo on his glove he liked and got caught. Equipment sponsorship is serious stuff with the colleges. It’s beaucoup bucks to the school and the coach.
My son swears by one of the cheapest bats out there, Rawlings 5150...he mashes with it. He hates all 2 piece bats.
The correct answer is the grey and yellow Easton XL3 from around 2015. It’s still used by some college players today and it’s the bat that has tested above the limit more than any other. At the SEC tourney in 2017 there were barrels of them that were removed from competition.
My sons loved those2014-16 Eastons ! Just the Metal ones, not the composites.
The Rawlings Velos swing really well, too, and have been more or less the same for years, since about 2014, if not earlier. Nice bats for line drive hitters. Not so much for sluggers.
i bought my son a cat7 when they first came out and he’s never looked back since. That bat has thousands of swings in it and still gets the job done. Think it was right around $200. If I had to buy him a new bat that would be a good fit for him I’d go with the Stinger Nuke.
I personally like the “ping” sound with the cat7...some people don’t. It can get pretty loud especially in an indoor facility.
How about the -5 orange xl1 i believe it was when they were like 13 or so? Most boys on every team in every major tournament had one and they were HOT!! The bbcor version wasn't so great however
@TerribleBPthrower posted:How long has he been hitting that Rawlings? I’m trying to find a place around here where my son can demo some one piece bats. I imagine he’d get a little more feel similar to the wood bat compared to no feel with the 2 piece.
He's been swinging the 5150 since HS, with the exception of one year he went with Marucci Cat (also excellent bat). He's now going to be a soph in college and still swinging 5150. Thats what he likes about it...the feel & feedback. Hates the noodle / no feel of 2 piece bats.
I thought that was the point of the BBCOR standard, that there wouldn't be a "best" bat. I guess maybe a bigger sweet spot, and maybe some bats didn't butt up against the standard. I know the kid said the Rawlings bats he had to use his first year of college were "dead".
@SomeBaseballDad posted:I thought that was the point of the BBCOR standard, that there wouldn't be a "best" bat. I guess maybe a bigger sweet spot, and maybe some bats didn't butt up against the standard. I know the kid said the Rawlings bats he had to use his first year of college were "dead".
Not sure how long ago that was but the 1st & 2nd year of BBCOR the bats were like hitting with a wet newspaper.
The old white Easton XL1! I think it was the first version of the XL1. It is a rocket launcher. But the issue is that they don't last. The barrel wobble is so common with these bats. We have had 4 of them in the past year and a half. 3 of them ended up with the wobble. I am just waiting on the last one we have to have the same issue. We played mostly wood tournaments this summer. Our last tournament was metal bats. I brought the XL1 to batting practice and the kids were shocked by the bat. Half the team ended up using it in the game.
I also still think the black/yellow Easton S1 is an all time great.
For most recent bats:
The Goods
Red Meta Prime
Blue Meta
Rawlings Quatro (green barrel with black handle and the all black version)
As you can tell, my son likes swinging 2 or 3 piece bats.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:@ARCEKU21 is the black and yellow an S3 or an S1? I can get an S1 for $40 in great shape.
The S1 is a composite bat, the S3 aluminium. Both black and yellow.
@SoCal OG posted:He's been swinging the 5150 since HS, with the exception of one year he went with Marucci Cat (also excellent bat). He's now going to be a soph in college and still swinging 5150. Thats what he likes about it...the feel & feedback. Hates the noodle / no feel of 2 piece bats.
My boys tried the 5150(Dad loved the price), but the Velo felt less clunky to them. Same idea, though. Feels more like an Ash bat, though nothing feels quite like that. I find even the Maple bats don't give that much feedback.
@57special posted:My boys tried the 5150(Dad loved the price), but the Velo felt less clunky to them. Same idea, though. Feels more like an Ash bat, though nothing feels quite like that. I find even the Maple bats don't give that much feedback.
Velo is good too. My son just preferred the extra heft of the 5150. His favorite part is laughing at the guys who have $400 bats but still cant hit the ball as hard as his $150 bat.
Has anyone gotten any feedback on the Green Easton. My son sent a video of it after hearing about it from “back in the day”. I watched that video and reminisced for an hour. If they would start making the Black Magic again, I’d buy it and go hit a few rounds with him.
RJM: "One of his travel teammates got suspended over his glove at his college. He sewed the brand of the sponsored glove over the logo on his glove he liked and got caught. Equipment sponsorship is serious stuff with the colleges. It’s beaucoup bucks to the school and the coach"
Wow. Was he bragging about doing it? How did they notice? Who noticed?
@TerribleBPthrower posted:@ARCEKU21 is the black and yellow an S3 or an S1? I can get an S1 for $40 in great shape.
22and25 is correct in that the S3 is aluminum and S1 is composite. I spoke wrong in my post. It is the S1 I was talking about. My son has one that looks near new. I would throw it up against most of his bats. Very light swinging and has good pop.
@Tug Tide posted:Has anyone gotten any feedback on the Green Easton. My son sent a video of it after hearing about it from “back in the day”. I watched that video and reminisced for an hour. If they would start making the Black Magic again, I’d buy it and go hit a few rounds with him.
We have one on our team. The feedback I am getting from our guys is that it is heavy swinging. A couple of the smaller guys gave it a go in BP and after a few pitches said "nope" and went back to their normal bats. Two of the stronger kids tried to use it in a tournament and they ended up ditching it a few games in. It didn't get picked up again after that.
I am guessing that if Easton does will with this back, capturing that nostalgia market, we will see a new Black Magic in the near future.
@ARCEKU21 posted:The old white Easton XL1! I think it was the first version of the XL1. It is a rocket launcher. But the issue is that they don't last. The barrel wobble is so common with these bats. We have had 4 of them in the past year and a half. 3 of them ended up with the wobble. I am just waiting on the last one we have to have the same issue. We played mostly wood tournaments this summer. Our last tournament was metal bats. I brought the XL1 to batting practice and the kids were shocked by the bat. Half the team ended up using it in the game.
I also still think the black/yellow Easton S1 is an all time great.
For most recent bats:
The Goods
Red Meta Prime
Blue Meta
Rawlings Quatro (green barrel with black handle and the all black version)As you can tell, my son likes swinging 2 or 3 piece bats.
beware of the quatro....love the pop but SERIOUS durability issues!!
my son likes the feel of 1 piece but also prefers a heavier swinging bat. It's hard to find a 1 piece that isn't so balanced. He swung the xl1 until this year but has settled on the demarini voodoo insane (he likes alloy more than comp) as he's gotten stronger bc the insane is a little more endloaded than the xl1. he wants to try the goods bc it's supposed to be really stiff (for a 2 piece) but I don't feel like dropping 4 bills just to try it out when he has a bat he's happy with already (that I picked up for 125)
@edcoach posted:beware of the quatro....love the pop but SERIOUS durability issues!!
Agree. We have had both versions of the bat. The highlighter barrel/black handle has great pop, but durability is questionable. Ours never cracked, but the connection piece slipped down. When I sent it in for warranty replacement, we received the black version. The black version was also a great bat and seemed to hold up better. We actually ended up giving the bat to a teammate about 2 years ago. He is still using the bat today today.
@ARCEKU21 posted:Agree. We have had both versions of the bat. The highlighter barrel/black handle has great pop, but durability is questionable. Ours never cracked, but the connection piece slipped down. When I sent it in for warranty replacement, we received the black version. The black version was also a great bat and seemed to hold up better. We actually ended up giving the bat to a teammate about 2 years ago. He is still using the bat today today.
Ive had to send 3 back, one was for the connection piece and 2 were cracked...they even sent me another one after they sent the first one which is all they guaranteed but since it was only like 2 months after they sent the other one they went ahead and sent it...the new one they sent also cracked but I have son use it in cages when team hits off the machine...he now has the red/black Demarini Insane and loves it.
My son was a 2015 HS grad. He had a Marucci Cat 5 his last 2 years of HS and loved it. For a small kid, 5'10, maybe 160 he hit 4 HR's his senior year with it. His college had Rawlings...he was not a fan
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Marucci seemed to hit it out of the park with the Cat7. They are still producing the same bat, just different color schemes, years later and still selling a ton of them.
the baseballbatbros on youtube just put out a video saying that, in their opinion, the cat 6 was very similar to the cat9 and that both are "better" (again, in their opionion) than the 7 or 8.
I seen some stuff on youtube( always a bad idea) , but decided to order a Stinger Nuke. Anybody here have any experience with this bat at BBCOR 33/30. ?
I've heard a few kids rave about the Stinger Nuke. Those smaller bat brands make me nervous though. It is tough to tell what their response would be if they have breaks or are decertified.
@Adams Baseball posted:I seen some stuff on youtube( always a bad idea) , but decided to order a Stinger Nuke. Anybody here have any experience with this bat at BBCOR 33/30. ?
Let us know your thoughts once you get that bat. I know the Baseball Bat Bros rave about how good of a bat it is for the price.
Don't know if anyone else got this (not best of all time but might help with folks looking to buy one this year):
They did not have BBCOR back in my day so I'll relay what my son has used. A few years ago in 7th grade he swung a 32" Rawlings Velo. He hit it well, but he never really liked the bat and was always trying other bats. The way he was hitting it I thought it was a great bat. His teammates loved it.
He didn't play 8th grade ball this year because of COVID, but he's preparing for freshman ball now and I just ordered him a Marucci CAT8 Connect Black. Back in travel ball he hit a CAT7 USSSA bat and loved it so I'm hoping he's happy with the CAT8 he finds under the Christmas tree this year.
Does anyone have an opinion on the Omaha 517? ITT seems a lot of FSU players use it, including freshman
The red one? My kid still refuses to give up his 32, so there could be something there
Baseball Bat Bros just did a comparison between the Easton B5 (new old green bat) and the old yellow Easton XL3. The XL3 was the clear winner. Look for there to be a run on that bat on eBay.
@2022NYC posted:The red one? My kid still refuses to give up his 32, so there could be something there
Yep. That’s the one. I never see it mentioned on these lists but always see FSU guys using it year after year
So I always wondered how many people actually pay $1k or more for the red Meta. Apparently a lot. Took my son to his hitting yesterday. A bunch of D1 players and commits were using them. It was strange to not see them using wood for the first time in a very long time. Out of 15 or so dudes, there was 1 The Goods and 1 old Easton. The dude using the Easton was absolutely destroying balls. Exit velo routinely in the 100's.
So I bought my 18 yr old a 33” 30oz Stinger Nuke for Christmas and took it out to field a couple days ago to just take some swings off the tee and all I can say is wow!!!!! First swing and a little smile came on his face....that never happens lol. The bat is definitely endloaded but he says it swings extremely smooth. The handle is pretty thin and tapers to a nice sized knob...just the right size to whip the bat through the zone. He wanted to just have some fun and take some daddy swings at the field and hit 2 that went 385’...he marked them off. He said he was swinging about 85% effort and since it was cold outside, the ball didn’t carry as much as in Warner temperatures. If your son is looking for an endloaded bat that has high performance then this might be the bat for you...and it is a little over $200...unbelievable deal!
Another swing
@TerribleBPthrower posted:So I always wondered how many people actually pay $1k or more for the red Meta. Apparently a lot. Took my son to his hitting yesterday. A bunch of D1 players and commits were using them. It was strange to not see them using wood for the first time in a very long time. Out of 15 or so dudes, there was 1 The Goods and 1 old Easton. The dude using the Easton was absolutely destroying balls. Exit velo routinely in the 100's.
Every now and then you’ll see a red meta on a local travel team but national teams are a different story. Couple kids have them on every team at higher level tournaments.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:So I always wondered how many people actually pay $1k or more for the red Meta. Apparently a lot. Took my son to his hitting yesterday. A bunch of D1 players and commits were using them. It was strange to not see them using wood for the first time in a very long time. Out of 15 or so dudes, there was 1 The Goods and 1 old Easton. The dude using the Easton was absolutely destroying balls. Exit velo routinely in the 100's.
My son has the red Meta (bought it when it first came out). He also has the black The Goods. He is set on The Goods. I keep shoving the red Meta in his bag when we go hit, but he always pulls out The Goods instead. He has even told me to sell his red Meta. But I am afraid that once the season starts he is going to want to use his Meta again.
@ARCEKU21 posted:My son has the red Meta (bought it when it first came out). He also has the black The Goods. He is set on The Goods. I keep shoving the red Meta in his bag when we go hit, but he always pulls out The Goods instead. He has even told me to sell his red Meta. But I am afraid that once the season starts he is going to want to use his Meta again.
I’m afraid to buy one and then it getting banned. The LS rep at the Wilson Premier says no chance that would happen with a 3 year old bat though
@TerribleBPthrower posted:I’m afraid to buy one and then it getting banned. The LS rep at the Wilson Premier says no chance that would happen with a 3 year old bat though
Perfect Game just recently went back to the 2017 model CF Zen (green drop 5) and banned it for youth going forward....never say never......
@22and25 posted:Perfect Game just recently went back to the 2017 model CF Zen (green drop 5) and banned it for youth going forward....never say never......
Wow! That’s crazy. Imagine how much money has been spent on those in the second-hand market. Why would they wait 3 years? Wonder if so many have been altered they just decided to ban all of them.
@Buckeye 2015 posted:My son was a 2015 HS grad. He had a Marucci Cat 5 his last 2 years of HS and loved it. For a small kid, 5'10, maybe 160 he hit 4 HR's his senior year with it. His college had Rawlings...he was not a fan
Cat 5 (squared?)was banned in 33 and 34 in college and HS. I'm not sure why it wasn't anything special. Almost no umps seemed to know about it.
@Buckeye 2015 posted:My son was a 2015 HS grad. He had a Marucci Cat 5 his last 2 years of HS and loved it. For a small kid, 5'10, maybe 160 he hit 4 HR's his senior year with it. His college had Rawlings...he was not a fan
Do college teams force players to use specific brands?
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Wow! That’s crazy. Imagine how much money has been spent on those in the second-hand market. Why would they wait 3 years? Wonder if so many have been altered they just decided to ban all of them.
@TerribleBPthrower At one of the more recent PG 13u tournaments in Vegas, one of the top teams in the country at the 13u level had a 2017 cf zen and balls were flying like crazy. 2-3 homeruns in the same game at BLD(300 foot fences) going over the 80 foot netting behind the fence. Opposing teams claimed that every player had their own 2017 cf zen but they all kept passing one around. Most claimed that it was shaved since the end cap popped off after of of these homeruns over the netting behind the fence. This is probably why they barely banned it. From firsthand experience, it can get EXTREMELY dangerous playing 12-13u baseball on the small fields when a big kid comes up with a Cf Zen. Would hate to see someone fake bunt with a CF Zen and slash one over to third. Crazy to see 100 MPH exit velocities from 13 year olds using the 2017 CF Zen. IMHO should have been banned years ago.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:There was a conversation between some pros the other day about the best BBCOR bats that they used to mash with. It was interesting and funny to hear them argue about it. What were the best bats when your kids played?
My son has only been using BBCOR for a couple years, but during that time I’d say the 2019 red Meta has been the best. Although the Demarini The Goods may take its place.
The meta prime in blue was actually banned in 33". Same bat as the red meta prime as far as I could tell. They were selling for $1500 on eBay at one point point. There is also a meta pwr prime that was very good but didn't get banned. Meta is hands down the the best for smaller kids but they go dead over time. If you have more size the one piece metal voodoos were good. I hear the newest Cat is very good.
Some will say it's the shooter not the arrow but there are definitely bats that were better than others. The previously mentioned -5 and -10 USSSA Zens and other Demarini CFs were lethal weapons. I read a story about a guy in Texas who used a tool they use to find hot bats in softball tournaments and college WS who said that the off the shelf Zen was hotter than a shaved bat. I've seen them explode on contact. They were legendary, and dangerous.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:I’m afraid to buy one and then it getting banned. The LS rep at the Wilson Premier says no chance that would happen with a 3 year old bat though
PG also just banned the 2015 CF7 and XL1, 5 going on 6 year old bats. I think there is still a possibility,
@KennieProton posted:The meta prime in blue was actually banned in 33. Same bat as the red meta prime as far as I could tell. The were selling for $1500 on eBay at one point point. There is also a meta pwr prime that is legal and very good but didn't get banned. Meta is hands down the the best for smaller kids. If you have more size the one piece metal voodoos were good. I hear the newest Cat is very good.
Some will say it's the shooter not the arrow but there are definitely bats that were better than others. The previously mentioned -5 and -10 USSSA Zens and other Demarini CFs were lethal weapons.
Not only BBCOR going for $1,500, old teammate payed 1,750 for a new in wrapper 2017 CF Zen. Only got to use it for about 5 months before COVID hit and bat was deemed illegal
@KennieProton posted:The meta prime in blue was actually banned in 33". Same bat as the red meta prime as far as I could tell. They were selling for $1500 on eBay at one point point. There is also a meta pwr prime that was very good but didn't get banned. Meta is hands down the the best for smaller kids but they go dead over time. If you have more size the one piece metal voodoos were good. I hear the newest Cat is very good.
Some will say it's the shooter not the arrow but there are definitely bats that were better than others. The previously mentioned -5 and -10 USSSA Zens and other Demarini CFs were lethal weapons. I read a story about a guy in Texas who used a tool they use to find hot bats in softball tournaments and college WS who said that the off the shelf Zen was hotter than a shaved bat. I've seen them explode on contact. They were legendary, and dangerous.
The LS rep told me the only difference is the paint and the connection piece due to the red Meta having some breaking issues. The 2021 Meta is much different. They had to put some type of rings on the inside the barrel to meet the specs.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:The LS rep told me the only difference is the paint and the connection piece due to the red Meta having some breaking issues. The 2021 Meta is much different. They had to put some type of rings on the inside the barrel to meet the specs.
You can feel the effects of the rings also. The new Meta swing weight is definitely different than the red and blue models.
When I asked him straight up comparing the new Meta to the old ones, he grinned and said I may want to look at other LS or Demarini models
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Do college teams force players to use specific brands?
Typically yes, if they have a sponsorship from a particular brand. The good thing is that they were free lol, which was kind of nice after 9 or 10 years of buying bats
Anybody here know of anyone swinging a LS LTD Select? Looks like a decent bat but nobody seems to have it in stock.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Anybody here know of anyone swinging a LS LTD Select? Looks like a decent bat but nobody seems to have it in stock.
What size does your son swing? Sites only have it in 34/31.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Anybody here know of anyone swinging a LS LTD Select? Looks like a decent bat but nobody seems to have it in stock.
This must be really limited run bat. I only see it on LS's website. There are a couple on ebay also (34"). I don't see a 32" or 33" floating around anywhere.
Is this bat the updated LS Select 719?
@2025prospect posted:What size does your son swing? Sites only have it in 34/31.
He needs a 33. The only site I can find any of them on is LS. No retailers have it. Weird.
@ARCEKU21 posted:This must be really limited run bat. I only see it on LS's website. There are a couple on ebay also (34"). I don't see a 32" or 33" floating around anywhere.
Is this bat the updated LS Select 719?
It is the updated Select series. I'm going to email LS to see if they are releasing more. It would be nice to see at least one review on it (besides the Bat Brothers fellas)
JustBats says it is exclusive to LS and wasn't offered to retailers.
Just picked up a 33 The Goods for tbpt jr. Told him he’d have to show me he can swing it as good or better than the 32 blue Meta. The Goods bat speed is definitely a tick slower than the Meta. Exit velo using a Stalker Pro 2 is exactly the same. Tough to make a scientific comparison because of the different lengths, but when he bulks up a little more I imagine the 33 TG will outperform the Meta. For now though he’s going to use the Meta
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Just picked up a 33 The Goods for tbpt jr. Told him he’d have to show me he can swing it as good or better than the 32 blue Meta. The Goods bat speed is definitely a tick slower than the Meta. Exit velo using a Stalker Pro 2 is exactly the same. Tough to make a scientific comparison because of the different lengths, but when he bulks up a little more I imagine the 33 TG will outperform the Meta. For now though he’s going to use the Meta
I noticed the same thing on our end with The Goods and Meta. He has the black The Goods and the red Meta. He wanted so bad to use The Goods. It was fine with average pitching but you could tell he was a tick slower than he was with the Meta. By chance, I ran into a new Voodoo One. That is now thee bat. Light swing weight and still packs a punch on the ball. It’s the first time he has used a one piece bat but it fits him better than both The Goods and Meta.
@ARCEKU21 posted:I noticed the same thing on our end with The Goods and Meta. He has the black The Goods and the red Meta. He wanted so bad to use The Goods. It was fine with average pitching but you could tell he was a tick slower than he was with the Meta. By chance, I ran into a new Voodoo One. That is now thee bat. Light swing weight and still packs a punch on the ball. It’s the first time he has used a one piece bat but it fits him better than both The Goods and Meta.
I wish I had seen this post 4 days ago, lol. Someone told me last night about the Voodoo as well. He said it’s super loud but his kid loves it
Justbats says it’s the same model as the 2020, just different paint
@TerribleBPthrower posted:I wish I had seen this post 4 days ago, lol. Someone told me last night about the Voodoo as well. He said it’s super loud but his kid loves it
Justbats says it’s the same model as the 2020, just different paint
Baseball Bat Bros said the same thing, same bat just new paint (which is not all that different from last years paint job).
My son got a new bat for Christmas-Stinger Nuke. Due to an injury, he has not been able to swing it until today. He loves it!!! Probably , more due to Mental Confidence , than anything else. But that doesn't matter. Confidence at the plate, is half the game. It's slightly more end-loaded than his's old Easton bat ( same weight and length -33/30). Therefore it may send the balls a little deeper, than his "balanced" bat. We'll see. I haven/t checked his exit Velo , off the T yet, as he is still recovering from a hip avulsion fracture. I'll up-date the metrics when he's at 100%. So far, though, he loves his Stinger!
P.S. : Sound is a bit different-more like a wood bat sound .
Ended up getting the Victus Nox for my son. He had the opportunity to Swing the VooDoo one, Goods, Meta Power 2021, Meta 2021, Cat 9 Connect and a couple others that were not close. His Fav 2 were the VooDoo and the Nox. Can not find the VooDoo anywhere and he said the next closest in weight was the Nox and he was able to get very little more Pop with the Nox without loosing swing speed. He said, the Power, Goods, and Cat9 connect all felt quite a bit heavier. And just didn't hit well with the Meta 2021. I personally feel there is not that much different between most of these (other then swing weight). But the comfort level with the the bat he chose was the best. And since 90% mental, I think it was a good buy.
@TxballDad posted:Ended up getting the Victus Nox for my son. He had the opportunity to Swing the VooDoo one, Goods, Meta Power 2021, Meta 2021, Cat 9 Connect and a couple others that were not close. His Fav 2 were the VooDoo and the Nox. Can not find the VooDoo anywhere and he said the next closest in weight was the Nox and he was able to get very little more Pop with the Nox without loosing swing speed. He said, the Power, Goods, and Cat9 connect all felt quite a bit heavier. And just didn't hit well with the Meta 2021. I personally feel there is not that much different between most of these (other then swing weight). But the comfort level with the the bat he chose was the best. And since 90% mental, I think it was a good buy.
Academy actually had the Voodoo One on their site this morning in a 33". I was able to snag one for my son's teammate who has been looking for one.
I’m going to try and snag a Voodoo One and see if he likes it any better. I’ll sell whichever one loses out.
Academy is sold out now
For anyone looking for a VoodooOne, they will be back in stock this Friday.
bought son the easton B5 (clone of the old green easton most of us 50 ish dads used...havent tested yet but barrel is huge and reviews are great on the sweet spot...anyone have any reviews (from their sons or teammates) on this one?
I've heard the B5 is super heavy from dads, but the kids love it. Guess we'll see next week when the games start.
id agree with that (being heavy) but as big as the barrel is it feels balanced to me...usually uses end loaded bats
@edcoach posted:id agree with that (being heavy) but as big as the barrel is it feels balanced to me...usually uses end loaded bats
So my son has a friend that has a b5 and son took some swings with it the other day. He told me he thought the ball didn’t carry as much as some other single piece alloys. Also said it wasn’t great on mis-hits...one 18 yr old’s opinion.
@ARCEKU21 posted:Academy actually had the Voodoo One on their site this morning in a 33". I was able to snag one for my son's teammate who has been looking for one.
Been 10 days and Academy still hasn't shipped the Voodoo One. I talked to them yesterday and they told me it was shipping today. We shall see.
@TxballDad posted:Ended up getting the Victus Nox for my son. He had the opportunity to Swing the VooDoo one, Goods, Meta Power 2021, Meta 2021, Cat 9 Connect and a couple others that were not close. His Fav 2 were the VooDoo and the Nox. Can not find the VooDoo anywhere and he said the next closest in weight was the Nox and he was able to get very little more Pop with the Nox without loosing swing speed. He said, the Power, Goods, and Cat9 connect all felt quite a bit heavier. And just didn't hit well with the Meta 2021. I personally feel there is not that much different between most of these (other then swing weight). But the comfort level with the the bat he chose was the best. And since 90% mental, I think it was a good buy.
How is your son liking the Nox? My son went back to his red Meta Prime. For some reason it is in his head that he just hits better with a multi piece bat as opposed to a one piece bat. But I have a feeling that the Meta Prime is on it's last leg since he has had it since 8th grade (he is a sophomore now). So contemplating grabbing a Nox the next size up so that he can use it the next year or two.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:I've heard the B5 is super heavy from dads, but the kids love it. Guess we'll see next week when the games start.
B5 is a tank! Our organization got a bunch of them when they first came out. The first weekend we got them a couple of the kids took BP with them and took them to the tournament we played in. By Sunday they were no where to be found. The feedback we got was that it was just too heavy and not very forgiving on mishits. But if you were able to barrel one up, it was a rocket. I don't think I saw them the rest of the summer.
@ARCEKU21 posted:How is your son liking the Nox? My son went back to his red Meta Prime. For some reason it is in his head that he just hits better with a multi piece bat as opposed to a one piece bat. But I have a feeling that the Meta Prime is on it's last leg since he has had it since 8th grade (he is a sophomore now). So contemplating grabbing a Nox the next size up so that he can use it the next year or two.
Son has been loving it. He practices with all the HS level guys from his Org (2024-2021) during optional practices on Sat and Sunday. Just about every bat you can think of is at those practices. Everyone is really good about letting people try out their bats before they get a new one. Since my son brought in the Nox, two more have been purchased and a couple people have it on backorder. What I have seen is the stronger guys (power hitters) have been going with the Goods and CAT 9 connect, meta power. Those that find balance bats are two light or are moving to a more end loaded bat like the Nox, select power. And the smaller guys that need or just like a balanced have been going with VooDoo Ones (when they can find one), Prime, Meta, and others.
Son likes the feel, no major hand ring on mishits (did have one ring him up off the connector piece, but no others. He shouldn't have swung on a left handed slider in on the hands, LOL). He is moving up from a USSSA -5 CF. And he has been surprised that the power has not dropped as much as he thought it was going to. It still dropped because the CF is crazy hot. But he was pleasantly surprised. I think the slight end load helps with that.
If you have any specific questions just let me know.
After watching the baseballbatbros, we went out and got an adidas aeroburner comp. son said it was hot but too light (he likes endloaded bats). Sold it to his buddy who had the meta before it got banned. that kid likes light swinging bats so he loves the comp.
then went and picked up the aeroburner hybrid and one piece (this was before the price run up so got them for about 200, combined). the hybrid was too heavy for him (I swung it...it's a tank). he liked the one piece in 34" (was swinging 33 and swings a 33.5 318 turn wood). He said it was light but the extra length helped so it wasn't too light.
this was a few months ago. he's been lifting through quarantine and has gotten pretty strong (405 dl at 6'2"/195 at 15 years old, up from 345 at 6'2"/180 in October). he picked up the hybrid again last weekend to try it out and his eyes lit up after his first swing. he's strong enough to handle it now and he loves it. we'll see what he does against real pitching (front toss just isn't the same and he swings wood for his travel team) but, if he can handle it, that might be his gamer this HS season.
Voodoo One in 32" back up on Demarini's site.
I just ordered a 33" on BetterBaseball. My wife is going to think I'm nuts. I still need to sell his 32" blue Meta. If he doesn't like the Voodoo One I should be able to sell it for more than I paid.
I noticed almost our entire team (Juco) is swinging that grey/yellow Easton xl3 from 2015 or so. I still say it’s the hottest bbcor ever made.
@d-mac posted:I noticed almost our entire team (Juco) is swinging that grey/yellow Easton xl3 from 2015 or so. I still say it’s the hottest bbcor ever made.
I haven't seen that one. Remember the orange xl1 -5? All the tournament teams had them. Hottest bat i ever saw
That yellow 2 1/4” composite Easton was unreal for youth bats. The LS Prime 917 2 1/4” was also super hot. I remember LL trying to get kids to switch at the LLWS. And obviously the recently banned green Zen is one of the best ever
If anyone else was waiting for a 32" Voodoo One, they're back in stock at Justbats
The 33 voodoo one arrived today. Didn’t have time to hit balls but he just took a couple swings and says it feels really light
I have a 31” Voodoo One arriving tomorrow for my 2025. It’s getting cold this week and no way I am letting him swing the Red Meta in cold weather. Looking forward to seeing how it performs for him. Will get some exit velo testing done in the garage tomorrow and see how it compares to the Meta.
Honestly. Imo. The best cold weather bbcor is the stringking metal pro. $99. As hot as voodoo. At 1/3rd the price.
Son just picked up the 33” victus nox and hit with it last night. After every hit he would say “I really like this bat”.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:The 33 voodoo one arrived today. Didn’t have time to hit balls but he just took a couple swings and says it feels really light
Most definitely light. If you take the Baseball Bat Bros word, they said it's one of the lightest swinging bbcor bats. I was swing my sons bat and then picked up an old XL2 (white barrel). Holy cow the XL2 felt like a sledge hammer.
The weather system that necessitated the immediate need of the Voodoo has now derailed its delivery....UPS tracking now says, sorry it’ll get there when it gets there.
Man, where do you guys live that the weather is so bad? I don't really watch TV or any news, so I'm completely ignorant to anything besides the 80* southeast FL weather.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:Man, where do you guys live that the weather is so bad? I don't really watch TV or any news, so I'm completely ignorant to anything besides the 80* southeast FL weather.
I am in Texas, there is an arctic front moving through the central US that is disrupting transportation. The bat was shipped from NJ via Chicago right through the ice storms.
This weekend our high temps won’t get out of the 30’s and some forecasters say lows could reach single digits over nights.
The verdict is in. The exit velo was a touch higher with the Voodoo One but he likes the feel of The Goods more than the Voodoo. I’m going to have him try it one more time before selling it.
My son ( 14 years old) and one of his team mates, both got a Stinger Nuke for Christmas. Both are just now hitting B.P. with it. They both REALLY LIKE IT ! Teammates older brother , doesn't like it so much as he likes a "lighter" swinging bat. The Nuke is a bit end-loaded.
@22and25 posted:I am in Texas, there is an arctic front moving through the central US that is disrupting transportation. The bat was shipped from NJ via Chicago right through the ice storms.
This weekend our high temps won’t get out of the 30’s and some forecasters say lows could reach single digits over nights.
Yea, the weather over the next week is going to be brutal down here in Texas. Not looking forward to sitting in the bleachers on Saturday for 3 hours during a scrimmage.
@TerribleBPthrower posted:The verdict is in. The exit velo was a touch higher with the Voodoo One but he likes the feel of The Goods more than the Voodoo. I’m going to have him try it one more time before selling it.
Sounds like my son. He is killing it with The Goods right now and the Voodoo One hasn't moved for about 10 days. He told me I could try to sell it. But something keeps telling me to just wait.
@ARCEKU21 posted:Sounds like my son. He is killing it with The Goods right now and the Voodoo One hasn't moved for about 10 days. He told me I could try to sell it. But something keeps telling me to just wait.
Yeah, I feel the same way. We only did tee and soft toss. I'd like him to try it in live BP. We haven't taken the wrapper off yet but I think I will. Even with a "few" swings on them they are listing at $400+ on secondary market sites. My son is in no way what I would consider a power hitter, but he uses his lower half very well to generate bat speed. I imagine having such a light swinging bat might change that feel.
The Goods and Voodoo One are really on the opposite ends of the spectrum for swing feel. If your son is predisposed to the feel of one of them there is just about zero chance they are going to feel comfortable with the other.
