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20 replies

Wood more Consistant?

Mallot's DadMallot's Dad100+ posts
My son has now played the Spring HS Season and the first part of Summer ball with the BBCOR bats. He had his first wood bat tournament this weekend. He has been very streaky with the BBCOR but seems to be more consistant with wood. He may even finish out the Legion Season using wood. Do you guys think that wood being wood vs a BBCOR bat that is basically a remodeled BESR bat has a more consistant sweet spot than BBCOR metal bats?
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B brute66100+ posts
The reason many players are having trouble adjusting to the BBCOR bats is because it is more 'natural' to make contact with the barrel at a point that is just beyond the BBCOR sweetspot. They got away with it on BESR bats since the barrel would collapse slightly and rebound, therefore still transferring energy to the baseball efficiently. With BBCOR, they left the sweetspot (and hence, the balance point) back in BESR territory to facilitate quicker batspeed, but took out the barrel rebound. This leaves a bat that feels dead when struck at the point most players feel is natural. Wood bats have a sweetspot (and therefore balance point) where it is 'supposed' to be, but require more strength to generate high batspeed.

Btw, the difference in sweetspot location between wood and BBCOR bats is only 1-2 inches as measured from the knob.
Mallot's DadMallot's Dad100+ posts
I'm beginning to think that even though you may give up a little bit of power by hitting with wood, you will gain in consistency. Until they actually build a BBCOR alloy bat from the ground up to be exactly like wood, the consistency will just not be the same as wood. But to get the power out of the BBCOR, you have to hit that sweet spot dead on. Seems that wood is more forgiving. That sound right to you guys?
D 2013 Dad100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by wogdoggy:
A good high quality wood bat will certainly out perform any bbcor..go take 20 swings with each and you'll see.


Do you have any backing information for this statement. It's almost like it is the "in" (for lack of a better word) thing to say. The bottom line is BBCOR out performs wood from a trampoline and distance factor. I think brute's explanation is much more feasible. If a BBCOR and wood are both hit in the sweet spot, with all else being the same, the bbcor batted ball will go further with a higher exit speed. It's simply that some players for one reason or another can hit the sweet spot more consistently with wood. It's not that the wood has more pop.

As evidence (sort of)why do the best tournaments require wood to be used....they want to see raw power with nothing added.

Also, all colleges would use wood if this in fact were the case.

The trampoline effect ration (or value) is slightly higher in a BBCOR bat than wood.

Also see this:
http://dailytrojan.com/2011/04...ses-stiff-challenge/
Last edited by 2013 Dad
W wogdoggy500+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by 2013 Dad:
quote:
Originally posted by wogdoggy:
A good high quality wood bat will certainly out perform any bbcor..go take 20 swings with each and you'll see.


Do you have any backing information for this statement. It's almost like it is the "in" (for lack of a better word) thing to say. The bottom line is BBCOR out performs wood from a trampoline and distance factor. I think brute's explanation is much more feasible. If a BBCOR and wood are both hit in the sweet spot, with all else being the same, the bbcor batted ball will go further with a higher exit speed. It's simply that some players for one reason or another can hit the sweet spot more consistently with wood. It's not that the wood has more pop.

As evidence (sort of)why do the best tournaments require wood to be used....they want to see raw power with nothing added.

Also, all colleges would use wood if this in fact were the case.

The trampoline effect ration (or value) is slightly higher in a BBCOR bat than wood.

Also see this:
http://dailytrojan.com/2011/04...ses-stiff-challenge/


have you hit with some of the better high quality wood bats versus a bbcor?.. a good trinity or zc bat or a good sam bat?..do wood bats flex a wee bit more than the bbcor?s
Stats4GnatsStats4Gnats10,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by wogdoggy:
have you hit with some of the better high quality wood bats versus a bbcor?.. a good trinity or zc bat or a good sam bat?..do wood bats flex a wee bit more than the bbcor?s


How much does a “better high quality wood bat” cost?

I think what’s being said is, this isn’t a matter of “opinion” or “feel”. There is factual evidence gathered scientifically that can’t be disputed, which demonstrates a BBCOR bat will outperform a wood bat, no matter what the quality.

But let’s say that evidence was wrong, why don’t all coaches require all players to use wood? After all, how foolish would any coach or player be if he didn’t take advantage of everything he could to maximize performance?

I do believe you “feel” what you say you’re seeing is true, but I believe its much more that you want to see that, than that’s its actually what’s happening. Its really difficult to argue against the laws of physics.
N Ninthmanout10+ posts
If the BBCOR limit is reached by the "BBCOR bat" the BBCOR bat will out perform wood just because they set the limit (.50) slightly higher than wood so all wood bats would conform in case there was one out there better than the ones they used to test with... BUT... we have found that some bats, specifically the replacement Exogrid my son used, does not out perform wood.

We sent back his Exogrid when the rings inside the barrel came loose. The replacement fixed the ring problem but the bat was dead and never got better by "breaking in" as the original Exogrid did.

The company was playing it a little too safe to make sure they stayed within the limits. If they get too close to the limit they may end up like Marucci and have bats decertified.
C cabbagedadHSBaseballWeb member since 2011
One of the posters is correct in that BBCOR bats are designed to perform slightly better than wood when hit on the sweet spot. Another is correct in stating that each player may have a balance and feel preference and therefore one may find that a wood bat performs better for them while another may prefer BBCOR.

The one thing that hasn't been touched on in this thread - with the construction of BBCOR (usually either discs or thicker walls in sweet spot) it is more difficult to feel the sweet spot than was the case with BESR where you could feel the spot of max trampoline effect. Wood has always had the advantage of providing feel and feedback to the hands, so the sweetspot is easily recognizable. Now, with BBCOR, that advantage is more significant for wood.
Stats4GnatsStats4Gnats10,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by cabbagedad:
…The one thing that hasn't been touched on in this thread - with the construction of BBCOR (usually either discs or thicker walls in sweet spot) it is more difficult to feel the sweet spot than was the case with BESR where you could feel the spot of max trampoline effect. Wood has always had the advantage of providing feel and feedback to the hands, so the sweetspot is easily recognizable. Now, with BBCOR, that advantage is more significant for wood.


How does one test that scientifically and come up with valid results? I submit that while many may “feel” what you describe, rather than being factually true, its more likely that players are reporting what they “think” people want to hear than what’s actually happening.

But as far as what an individual believes and how it may aid him personally, it really makes no difference what-so-ever. But I can’t help but question why if wood is so superior, it isn’t being used universally, rather than non-wood.
SdleftySdlefty500+ posts
BBCOR is fine for the young developing hitters in youth ball, pony league and high school. At that young of age BBCOR is much easier for them to swing than wood and makes hitting fun. Now, as a kid develops and has some size and strengthn he should have no problem swinging wood. Similar to golf. It is easier to swing a high tech driver than an old perssimmon wood.
T tzbookman10+ posts
Funny...I had the same puzzled look when I ordered a Brett maple/bamboo bat. Their explanation was a bit different though....they said it had to be BBCOR certified because Bamboo is technically a grass, but the multi-wood configuration seems like a better explanation.

Anyone out there encounter any problems in using the bamboo or multi-wood bats in wood-bat leagues?
MidAtlanticDadMidAtlanticDad10,000+ posts
Yes, you wouldn’t want anyone gaining an unfair advantage using grass. Smile

The main issue is the glue that holds the pieces of wood/bamboo together, which is stronger than the wood. Have you ever seen an laminated beam in home construction? Much stronger than solid wood, and you don’t need nice long straight-grained blanks.

I’ve never seen any research on laminated vs solid wood baseball bats. I’m guessing the biggest advantage of laminated is the durability, not the pop.

This document is from 2009, but the one-piece wood rule still applies.
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/rules/...20FINAL%205%2009.pdf
B bostonbulldogbaseball100+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by tzbookman:
Funny...I had the same puzzled look when I ordered a Brett maple/bamboo bat. Their explanation was a bit different though....they said it had to be BBCOR certified because Bamboo is technically a grass, but the multi-wood configuration seems like a better explanation.

Anyone out there encounter any problems in using the bamboo or multi-wood bats in wood-bat leagues?


I bought my son the Brett maple bamboo bat last year and he used it extensively in 14U league play. Not only this bat still going strong but it was only $59.00.

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