Wood Bats

Most wood bat league allow the composite bats.They do not break as often as an ash bat does when you get jammed. Ash bats are the least expensive with the composites being the most expensive and maple falling in between.
Each player should have a primary bat and a backup.

Negotiating with a sporting goods store would be a good idea but most players are going to show up with their choice either way.
Most wood is in the -3 drop range but they do fluxuate quit a bit. High end wood will have the actual weight on the bat.

Pine tar is imporant to wood bats also because the outer finish will rub off at the handle and you will lose grip. Pine tar will generally help extend the life of batting gloves if used properly

schwammi,
You have a PM.
UE

My son got 3 Birch Bats at the beginning of the fall season & still has all 3.

quote:

Originally posted by schwammi:
I have been asked to organize a summer team that will play in a wood bat league, as well as some wood bat tournaments. I could use some recommendations:

1. How many bats should each player have?
2. Do teams negotiate "team contracts" with suppliers, or "every man for himself"?
3. How do the length/weight work? is there still a drop 3?
4. Ash, maple, composite, or other (and are there rules for tournaments)?
5. Anything else you can share or recommend?

thanks...

1) It depends. Some kids are bat killers. Some rarely break a bat.

2) We had the option of buying in bulk from the tournament (Berkshire Baseball). Kids brought their own.

3) Most wood bats are -2. You can get them with various drops. The more the drop the more likely the bat is to break.

4) Some tournaments don't allow composites and/or bamboo.

quote:

4) Some tournaments don't allow composites and/or bamboo.

Good advice RJM....

Clarify the tourney rules before you go.....many wood bat tournaments do not consider composites to be "wood bats".....

I know composites are made of wood but composites can be made to perform better by "rolling".....

When a composite bat is rolled, it's placed between two rollers of a bat rolling machine and then pressure is applied so that as the bat passes through the rollers the bats fibers are stretched out and the glue holding the layers together is broken down.

This causes the fibers to become more flexible which greatly improves the bat's trampoline effect. This trampoline effect is what produces the batted ball speed and distance. It will also widen the sweet spot of the bat.

This process will allow a composite to out perform a traditional wood bat...

quote:

This causes the fibers to become more flexible which greatly improves the bat's trampoline effect. This trampoline effect is what produces the batted ball speed and distance. It will also widen the sweet spot of the bat.

When bats are rolled they sometimes exceed BESR regulations. How would you feel as a parent if a player was injured because you had your son's bat rolled? How would you feel if his parents found out and sued you?

Need a wood bat. I usually buy culled bats from Don Morton Sports www.ballglove.com. Three culled wood bats for $45.00. They work great. Louisville Slugggers that have been misprinted. They are not model specific so you can try a variety of bats and see what model works best.

quote:

Originally posted by dswann:
Need a wood bat. I usually buy culled bats from Don Morton Sports www.ballglove.com.

That link goes to a glove repairer

Try Don Morton Sports.

Schwammi;

you may send me an e-mail. I have a small inventory of ML ash and maple bats which are used by several players in the World Games.

Bob Williams

Some additional clarification is needed here regarding the word "composite". This word is curretnly being commonly used in two different manners in the baseball bat world.

1. Composite Bats - These are bats that are made from carbon fiber, kevlar, and other lightweight materials that are generally from the aerospace industry. These bats are very expensive and tend to be seen as a direct replacement for the high end aluminum alloy bats. Bats in this category are Easton Stealth Comp, Combat B1 AB, etc... It is true that these types of bats can be rolled (or shaved) like aluminum bats to enhance their performance. This is a common practice among slow pitch softball players.

2. Wood Composite Bats - These bats have some amount of wood in them. The barrel may be made of wood and the handle made of a composite material like the bats in the above category. Examples here would be the DeMarini wood/composite and the Combat MC-105. Bats that fall in this category can also be wood barrels with a fiberglass reinforced handle like the D-BAT Trojan or the Brett Boa Bat. Bamboo bats fall into this category as well. Another bat in this category is the Baum Bat or the Louisville Slugger composite which has a wood core and a hard exterior shell. Some wood bat leagues and tournaments will allow the use of the bats in Category 2, but they would never allow the use of bats from Category 1 as these bats contain no wood. There would also be no way to roll or shave bats in category 2.

I would respectfully disagree that most wood bats are commonly made -2.


Hope this helps.
UE

The Demarini wood composite is ridiculous durable. If allowed by the league I recommend it highly. My son has had his for 1 1/2 yrs used in cage only.

Same here with the Demarini wood. My son is now going into his 3rd year of using it in all his woodbat fall games and all bp and cage work during the spring and summer seasons and it is still going strong. The only problem now is that the rubber knob on the end is tearing off so if anybody has a fix for that let me know. At 120.00 it has been 1 of the best baseball products I have ever purchased for my son.