# of Wood Bats needed for Summer Season

It depends on the player. I had a player who needed two per weekend. No one would lend him their bats. His nickname became “Kindling” due to all the bats he broke over a a summer. My son made through summer ball with three.

I don’t remember anyone breaking bats in BP. You break bats when you get fisted.

Can you kid swing a baum bat? They definitely last longer. How many your kid can break will vary. My kid went through no broken bats in a year to 3 in 6 weeks! Of course my kid can only swing the expensive axe or XR handle bats.

I would definitely purchase one or two more, if they are his "favorite", not easily replaceable while you are on the road, and if you feel that the size will still fit him next year. 

My son was 15u last summer, his first time on a national team, doing a crazy summer circuit.  We had purchased two new wood bats from a local manufacturer prior to leaving for the circuit.  (He had previously used their bats until they broke, and always liked them.)  Day 1 at the first tournament, using the new bat and it just sounds "dead" and had no pop.  That evening we have a conversation about not using the local brand and instead using his prized Louisville Slugger (he did great in a showcase with that bat and loved it).  Second day, first at bat, uses the Louisville Slugger - Shattered.  He was so upset. lol.  Had a brand new Marucci with him, never used.  Next at bat uses the Marucci - Shattered.  Those were all the bats he had brought to the field!  And we had another game after the one that was only half way over.  Luckily his teammate had a Baum, and let him use it for the rest of the game while I went back to the hotel to get the last bat from the local manufacturer.  That night we checked out a bat store and Dicks.  Ended up getting a Warstick in Maple.  It lasted five days of in game use only until it too was shattered.  My kid seems to have a propensity to break wood bats.  He is also the only kid I know that has cracked a wood bat through during T work.

15U ? Get a Baum bat. One and done

My kid will be in a summer college wood bat league, and I don’t think they allow Baum bats.  And he loves turning on an inside fastball! This could get expensive.  Good thing he’ll have time for a part time job this summer too

Sounds like I may need to pick up a Baum Bat as the ultimate backup. These are the ones allowed by Perfect Game:

AAA Pro Maple Baum Bat (Gold & White editions)
AAA Pro Ash Baum Bat (Gold & White editions)

I have no real knowledge about them. Are they balanced or end loaded? My son would do better with a balanced bat....Gold or White? Ash or Maple? He currently swings Birch.

We went through three in a day one summer (his two and a friends). Went to the baseball store outside of GA and bought three of the Old Hickory blem(ish) bats. Since they aren’t 100% to spec it was key to have him there to figure out if the Miss in specs worked for him (bigger knob, a little longer or shorter than specs, etc). He only broke one of those and then taped up and fixed up the rest and sold them online.

Regarding the Baum - my son had one for three seasons.  At 14U and 15U he used it constantly for BP and at wood bat tournaments.  When he would compare to metal it seemed to have as much pop.  By 16U he thought it was going dead so it became the backup.  When two broken bats forced him to use it at the end of the tournament it sure seemed dead.

Do you use the bat to knock dirt off your spikes? Do you crowd the plate?

is the label up or down? When it is down does the bat feel longer?

Bob

Mine is playing in collegiate league that allows Baum so I'm getting him 2 bats and his baum will be insurance

Son was a C271 user for 3 years. Would have 2 Primes for games (second was the backup), then use non-Prime C271s (2/3 the price at worse) for practice. Would generally get through the year on those 4 bats. When he changed to Odin, he kept the C271s as backup.

So to answer your question, if you aren't going Baum, suggestion from my end is 2 game bats, 2 BP/practice bats that can serve as game bats in an absolute pinch. Should last the year if he is generally hitting square.

Also, IMO, no idea why Baums are allowed in wood tourneys. In anecdotal experience, they are a class above any legal wood bat. But until they're disallowed, if your player likes them, no reason to not use them.

Also, IMO, wood only tourneys are stupid, and just adds to the cost of an already expensive sport. But that's for another thread.

Wood bats shorten the games which should be welcome on a hot day by parents, players and pro scouts. Pro scouts will deduct 40 ft on HR hit with metal. All our tournaments and Area Code games 34 years use wood bats.

Solution don’t break bats. The 271 has a thin handle with no taper and will break on inside pitches, especially if your crowds the plate

Bob

@Consultant posted:

Wood bats shorten the games which should be welcome on a hot day by parents, players and pro scouts. Pro scouts will deduct 40 ft on HR hit with metal. All our tournaments and Area Code games 34 years use wood bats.

Solution don’t break bats. The 271 has a thin handle with no taper and will break on inside pitches, especially if your crowds the plate

Bob

Respectfully, Bob:

I don't have any empirical evidence in either direction as for shortened games. Anecdotally, based off of two teams that used Baum exclusively against son's team over the years, there's likely truth there. But there's cheaper ways to achieve a shorter game (perhaps variants of the Ways to Play games). No throwing around the horn post-K, no pop to 2B, 1-1 starting count.

Beyond that: If all competitors are using the same bat (wood or metal), why bother using wood?

Shouldn't any scout worth their salt be able to tell a good swing from a bad, a barrel from a bloop, no matter the bat?

Even if you aren't breaking said wood bat, you still have to buy a wood bat for summer ball that you aren't using for your HS or college season. That's $95+ that is unnecessarily spent at LEAST once.

And if it matters, son broke a total of 3 bats during gameplay from 14U to 17U, and another 2 during hitting practice/BP. So that's 5 bats over 4 years that were, frankly, unnecessary, at a cost of somewhere around $650.

During the same period, he used 3 non-wood BBCOR bats (32, 34, then back to a 33 which he uses now). Without wood tourneys, these would have possibly lasted the duration as needed.

I'm with Senna on this one. HS player that uses metal for HS then uses wood for the summer to get the attention of a college coach where they will again be using a metal bat.

@fly996 posted:

Sounds like I may need to pick up a Baum Bat as the ultimate backup. These are the ones allowed by Perfect Game:

AAA Pro Maple Baum Bat (Gold & White editions)
AAA Pro Ash Baum Bat (Gold & White editions)

I have no real knowledge about them. Are they balanced or end loaded? My son would do better with a balanced bat....Gold or White? Ash or Maple? He currently swings Birch.

For best performance you'll want to get the Maple Gold.

Remember the Summer College Leagues use wood.

During the 17 years of the Area Code games [wood bats] and 25 years of the Goodwill International Series with Australia, Japan, Korea [wood and metal], I measured the 9 inning games with wood average 2.5 hours with metal 3+ hours.

Quality Maple pro bats can be purchased for $60.00

Bob

a few years ago against a top pitcher my son broke 2 wood bats in 1 game...

in the area code underclass a few years ago went through 3 bats but the coaches gave him 5 or 6 more

Second what 314Calhoun suggested:

Baum AAA Pro Maple Gold

Believe you can order balanced or end loaded, regular knob or flared, and some 1/2 sizes (i.e. 33.5).  SHOULD last you all summer and then some

Number 1 son broke a lot of bats.  Got him the Baum bat and he loved it.  Metal bat was the balanced Rawlings Velo.

Number 2 son doesn't break bats. Hates the Baum bat. Loved the Marucci AP5 Hybrid, very end loaded. Broke three AP5's and went back to wood.  I bought two AP5's off the 1/3 price discount rack. Metal bat is the end loaded the Goods.

Even the Baum bat end load is not very end loaded.  You can talk to Baum about what bat turn your son likes and try to match the bat to the swing weight.  General complaint on the Baum bat is that some people don't like the knob.

If you get sawed off inside or clip it off the end, you'll need a new bat no matter how good a batter they are.

Check out Baseball Bat Bros reviews of this bat.  My 2023 LOVES it.  Super durable but not nearly as much as Baum.  This place has it for $20-50 less than anywhere else.

https://www.hq4sports.com/rawl...od-baseball-bat.html

Make sure any "hybrid" wood bats you pick are legal in the specific wood bat tournaments.

For PG there is a page listing legal "wood" bats

https://www.perfectgame.org/Ev...les.aspx?event=39379

@Dadbelly2023 posted:

Check out Baseball Bat Bros reviews of this bat.  My 2023 LOVES it.  Super durable but not nearly as much as Baum.  This place has it for $20-50 less than anywhere else.

https://www.hq4sports.com/rawl...od-baseball-bat.html

My 2024 loves this bat as well, I also got his from that same vendor. He's only used it in 1 wood tourney, but has hit live ABs & BP with no issues yet.

That Baseball Bat Bros video sold me on giving it a try, I have since bought more as backups. The price has gone up at most places since that video came out.

Thanks for all of the feedback which is valuable. I think I've decided to add one more Victus which is basically the same price as a Baum bat. That would give him three Victus plus he has a LS C271BP Birch which he can use as the dedicated BP bat or game it in an emergency. Fingers crossed that this will be enough....

My son's showcase organization gave him a prototype composite wood bats from one of the well known wood bat manufacturers. It is an AP5 turn but the weight/balance of the bat does not match up to what a traditional AP5 usually feels like. It is much more balanced and easy swinging. My son has been using it for cage work since it was given it to him. He loves it. We have been checking ebay and other sites to see if any more of these prototypes to make it out in the public. May even see if our head guy can ask them for a couple more.

Also a big fan of the Demarini maple composites. My son said they swing better than his Baum. For traditional wood, there is a local wood bat manufacturer that turns some really nice bats for good prices. My son ordered one of their 141 turns this past fall and has also mixed it in during his cage work. We are actually planning on picking up a couple more for the summer.