What do you do to get ready for BBCOR BATS?

If your son enjoys using wood bats, he'll be fine. He should keep using wood as preparation. BBCOR bats generally perform somewhere between wood and BESR, much closer to wood. They have a bit larger sweetspot and slightly more carry than wood but it is not as easy to feel the sweetspot. Far less lively than BESR.

For the past several years, whether it be BESR or BBCOR, Demarini Voodoo and Easton Surge are top picks with Louisville Slugger Omaha close behind. There is not a ton of feedback on the 2012 models yet, but concensus is that they will be slightly better than 2011's. Voodoo is a longer barrel with a balanced feel compared to the Surge being a bit more end loaded. Surge also has more of a "crack" sound while Voodoo maintains just a tinge of a ping, although quite muted compared to BESR.

FYI - Virginia did not require BBCOR this year. They did have a slightly different rule than NHSF, but no BBCOR requirement...

My son is looking at the same situation in having to move to BBCOR in the fall. We actually discussed it last night and he's sent an e-mail to his coach to find out what manufacturer they use. We're going to pick one up and he's going to use it over the summer to get ready...

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Originally posted by TurnTwoNet:
My son is looking at the same situation in having to move to BBCOR in the fall. We actually discussed it last night and he's sent an e-mail to his coach to find out what manufacturer they use. We're going to pick one up and he's going to use it over the summer to get ready...

Don’t get sucked into believing more $$$ means more performance! BBCOR is not BESR where there was really no top limit to performance, which is what got BESR killed.

Go find the cheapest BBCOR you can, to start with. I believe you might still be able to pick one up for less than $100. Remember what the standard is. WOOD! How much sense would it make to spend $300 for a wood bat when you could get a perfectly serviceable one for $50? Would the additional $250 give a player any more performance?

2012 does not evan have hispast EXOs in his bag. He is carrying to wood bats for practice. Not sure what he plans when games start up again on Monday. His plan is to practice with wood all summer.

Cheapest is not necessarily the best way to go on these. We have talked to quite of few industry guys here in store and got some feedback to the difference in the bats that cost more.

Some of the increased price is the make up of the bat - alloy used or composite. Because of material used some certain models may be able to offer a larger sweetspot than others. If they are all supposed to hit the same then sweetspot size could be significant.

Another variable was the handle flex. If the barrel is going to be deadened then handle flex could be a way of getting more swing speed at impact and could also help in the long run.

It will be interesting to see who comes out ahead in the long run but trust me all of these bats will not perform the same regardless of price.

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Originally posted by HBFan:
Cheapest is not necessarily the best way to go on these. We have talked to quite of few industry guys here in store and got some feedback to the difference in the bats that cost more.

Some of the increased price is the make up of the bat - alloy used or composite. Because of material used some certain models may be able to offer a larger sweetspot than others. If they are all supposed to hit the same then sweetspot size could be significant.

Another variable was the handle flex. If the barrel is going to be deadened then handle flex could be a way of getting more swing speed at impact and could also help in the long run.

It will be interesting to see who comes out ahead in the long run but trust me all of these bats will not perform the same regardless of price.

Who said they’d all perform the same? I certainly didn’t!

What I said was to get the cheapest one available to START WITH! I also asked how much sense it would be to spend $300 on a wood bat as opposed to a perfectly serviceable one that only cost $50. Then I asked if the additional $250 would give a player any more performance. What I was really saying was, before you spend the $$$, make sure you’re getting value for your $$$, rather than to listen to some sales guys who’s only goal is to make the highest percentage of profit possible.

Of course if your saying your contacts in the industry are implying their bats will have a 10” sweetspot as opposed to only a 3” sweetspot from other manufacturers, that I can’t say for sure. My contacts in the industry haven’t led me to believe any such thing, but I sure don’t claim to be an expert in the manufacture of bats.

I also don’t have a clue as to how much a the flex in a handle could improve bat speed. What percentage of bat velocity could be gained?

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Go find the cheapest BBCOR you can, to start with. I believe you might still be able to pick one up for less than $100. Remember what the standard is. WOOD! How much sense would it make to spend $300 for a wood bat when you could get a perfectly serviceable one for $50? Would the additional $250 give a player any more performance?

Ahhhhhh, yes there are performance and durability differences between some Wood bats at $39 versus a Pro model at $129.

The BESR bats weren't created equal nor are the BBCOR. Certainly, you are correct that more money spent doesn't necessarily equal more performance.

By the way, it isn't a good generalization that a higher price means a higher profit for the retailer or the manufacturer nor a fatter commission for the retailer.

You sound like you are a great consumer advocate. I suggest buying your son the cheapest servicable glove you can find for him as the quality really doesn't mean much.

With a good swing, the player will outperform the others with any bat.

It's the Indian not the Arrow!

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Originally posted by Prime9:
Ahhhhhh, yes there are performance and durability differences between some Wood bats at $39 versus a Pro model at $129.

Well, I didn’t say anything about durability, so let’s get that out of the discussion. What performance differences are there though. I’m really curious.

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The BESR bats weren't created equal nor are the BBCOR. Certainly, you are correct that more money spent doesn't necessarily equal more performance.

And I didn’t say they were. FI, I know there are MOI differences, and a player should certainly learn to understand what that means to the “feel” of a bat, and how it affect performance. But until the player has had the opportunity to learn how to discern all the differences, there’s really no reason to drop $300 on a bat, because for all they know, the cheapest bat may well be the one that best fits their style and performs the best for them.

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By the way, it isn't a good generalization that a higher price means a higher profit for the retailer or the manufacturer nor a fatter commission for the retailer.

Who said it was? My comment was intended to point out that a salesman’s main goal was to his job, not to the customer, and wasn’t intended to be a detrimental comment at all. I’m just saying that the buyer should be beware.

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You sound like you are a great consumer advocate. I suggest buying your son the cheapest servicable glove you can find for him as the quality really doesn't mean much.

I don’t try to be an advocate for anything other than the truth.

You comment about the glove shows me that you’re so upset with what I said, you find it necessary to try to embarrass me or at least show others how stupid I am. As childish as that is, its ok because I’ve dealt with that kind of thing all my life. But just so you understand that not every time someone says something you don’t happen to agree with, they aren’t trying to lead anyone astray, look again at my 1st post in this thread, and read what I said about buying the cheapest BBCOR bat.

I didn’t say or even imply to buy the cheapest bat, then try to make it work as though it were the same as all other models. I added the phrase. “to start with”! I chose my words very carefully, knowing that models would be very different indeed. I was thinking what I would do, and had done in the past under very similar circumstances.

In my mind its better to pick up the cheapest bat possible to use while checking out all of the other possibilities. In this case, a player could do that and check out all the different models over the summer, fall, and winter, then in the spring pick up the model he feels best suits him. Then he could either keep the bat for BP or jack a$$ing around, or sell it. In either case, he will not have much invested, and therefore the least to lose as possible. But evidently you think a player should go out and drop a couple hundred right out of the box. That’s akin to having someone but the most expensive truck they can find, without regard to how it will be used.

Sorry, I guess I’m just a bit more careful about how I spend my hard earned $$$ than you are.

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Originally posted by Jimmy33:
With a good swing, the player will outperform the others with any bat.

It's the Indian not the Arrow!

Careful Jimmy! That's not the good company line some of the folks here expect.