Looking for recommendations for my 8 year old son. He is 4'5" tall and weighs about 68 lbs. I don't want to spend $249.99 for my 8 year old, but understand a $29.99 bat isn't the way to go either. Suggestions?
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try this $59 easton bat
Get him a wood bat for practice...And he can always use another teammates bat.
Play it again sports or a neighbor with a 12 year ols will set you up nice....
Buy him a decent bat for half that price. Google bat reviews, do your homework, and look for last years discounts or bargains on E-bay.
See bat sizing charts on Easton web-site.
See bat sizing charts on Easton web-site.
have your son taken somewhere where he can learn quality mechanics and the bat really won't matter... the "best" bat on the market is just a scam... buy anything... borrow a teammates... don't spend $250 on any bat... would be like buying $250 shoes... he's gonna grow out of them soon...
diablo, I like your thinking
YBLMPG
Rawlings YBLMPG Plasma Gold Youth Baseball Bat (-13) $139.95
www.betterbaseball.com
This is a great balanced bat for kids. The balance helps kids learn muscle memory and consistency. End loaded bats create more problems for kids learning to hit. Probably the best bat for kids under 13.
Rawlings YBLMPG Plasma Gold Youth Baseball Bat (-13) $139.95
www.betterbaseball.com
This is a great balanced bat for kids. The balance helps kids learn muscle memory and consistency. End loaded bats create more problems for kids learning to hit. Probably the best bat for kids under 13.
He's 8 years old. Go to Walmart and buy any bat he can swing comfortably. In a couple of years if he progresses buy him a better bat.
The biggest mistake with very young players and bats is that the bat is too long. Make sure he can swing the bat without too much effort that messes up his natural swing.
The biggest mistake with very young players and bats is that the bat is too long. Make sure he can swing the bat without too much effort that messes up his natural swing.
Leverage- a "well balanced" bat does not teach a kid muscle memory. Doing something over and over again through repetitions (swimming/riding a bike) teaches muscles memory...
youth bats aren't "well balanced" anyway.. they are end-loaded - the handle end unfortunetly - seeing how wood bats are end loaded...
end loaded bats don't create problems for kids learning to hit... parents/poor instructors creat problems by teaching the wrong mechanics... if a kid is tought how to use his body properly to swing a bat, he will be fine...
youth bats aren't "well balanced" anyway.. they are end-loaded - the handle end unfortunetly - seeing how wood bats are end loaded...
end loaded bats don't create problems for kids learning to hit... parents/poor instructors creat problems by teaching the wrong mechanics... if a kid is tought how to use his body properly to swing a bat, he will be fine...
quote:Originally posted by Diablo con Huevos:
Leverage- a "well balanced" bat does not teach a kid muscle memory. Doing something over and over again through repetitions (swimming/riding a bike) teaches muscles memory...
youth bats aren't "well balanced" anyway.. they are end-loaded - the handle end unfortunetly - seeing how wood bats are end loaded...
end loaded bats don't create problems for kids learning to hit... parents/poor instructors creat problems by teaching the wrong mechanics... if a kid is tought how to use his body properly to swing a bat, he will be fine...
I know that I can always come here for disagreement. If you think end loaded bats are good for really young hitters that is great. I've swung every high and medium level youth bat. Some are more end loaded and cause hands to cast or the hitter to wrap the ball. The balanced bats provide more bat control for young players. I have timed numerous swing speeds and measured tons of balls off the tee for distance comparing these bats. The bat I have posted has produced the best results and best habits for young hitters.
Let me know which bat you think is the best bat for young hitters since I believe that is what this topic is about anyway.
Lev- end-loaded bats don't cause hands to cast, poor mechanics do. Just like fast cars don't cause wrecks, poor drivers do...
casting hands can are the outcome of poor (or no) instruction... same as "wrapping" to the ball....
a balanced bat does provide more control for players - but it hampers them as well... just like all the youth handle-loaded bats give more control, but it is masking the problem... poor mechanics..
i will take any youth bat.... you take a youth player with poor mechanics and your bat and i will take a youth with good mechanics and any bat...
what are you ttrying to get for the palyer with your well balanced bat? greater ball exit speed??
momentum = mass x velocity...
the kids i work with that are younger than high school age use drop 3 bats after two weeks ....
casting hands can are the outcome of poor (or no) instruction... same as "wrapping" to the ball....
a balanced bat does provide more control for players - but it hampers them as well... just like all the youth handle-loaded bats give more control, but it is masking the problem... poor mechanics..
i will take any youth bat.... you take a youth player with poor mechanics and your bat and i will take a youth with good mechanics and any bat...
what are you ttrying to get for the palyer with your well balanced bat? greater ball exit speed??
momentum = mass x velocity...
the kids i work with that are younger than high school age use drop 3 bats after two weeks ....
-13 bats are good for nobody, any age.
The best hitters I've seen swing balanced bats. It is easier to stay inside the ball and hit it up the middle and easier to work on hitting opposite field gaps. Hitters can also wait a little longer with a balanced bat before committing to swing. Additionally, the metal at the end of a balanced bat is thinner than an end loaded bat. The ball carries further as it is easier to get more backspin on the ball and there is a little more trampoline effect.
As a hitter gets older around 13 or 14 the rebound effect starts to work against them as the harder metal of something like an exogrid provides a harder hitting surface and the softer end of a balanced bat absorbs too much of the ball.
Hits are crisper with a balanced bat as contact is more consistent. If a young hitter commits with a balanced bat they have a better chance of holding their swing than with early commitment of an end loaded bat.
Eventually, hitters have to go to more end loaded bats in their early teens but young players hit well and develop better habits with balanced bats. Batspeed is a little better with a balanced bat as well as it is easier to initiate early batspeed.
I have run plenty of tests using swing speed radars and measuring distance and balanced bats are superior for young players.
Major league hitters cork bats to get better balance and control on their bats. Bat control is very important and easier with a balanced bat.
As a hitter gets older around 13 or 14 the rebound effect starts to work against them as the harder metal of something like an exogrid provides a harder hitting surface and the softer end of a balanced bat absorbs too much of the ball.
Hits are crisper with a balanced bat as contact is more consistent. If a young hitter commits with a balanced bat they have a better chance of holding their swing than with early commitment of an end loaded bat.
Eventually, hitters have to go to more end loaded bats in their early teens but young players hit well and develop better habits with balanced bats. Batspeed is a little better with a balanced bat as well as it is easier to initiate early batspeed.
I have run plenty of tests using swing speed radars and measuring distance and balanced bats are superior for young players.
Major league hitters cork bats to get better balance and control on their bats. Bat control is very important and easier with a balanced bat.
The other way to develop bat control is to develop strong forearms and wrists.
Lev- the best hitters I have seen, swing wood bats, not balanced bats...
its not easier to stay inside the ball with a certain bat.. but it is with certain mechanics - if taught properly.. it is NOT easier to hit up the middle with a balanced bat.. there is a correlation between where the pitch location is relative to where ball is hit to on field.. not on if bat is balanced or not, that is silly... u r telling me that a pitch on outside corner would be more effortlessly hit up the middle because of bat balance? that ball should be hit to opposite field no matter the bat.... batters can wait longer, if taught how to get into launch position correctly and taught how to generate (with body) batspeed with correct mechanics.. wait and see is an eye/brain thing, not a bat thing..... physilogy 101
backspin is dictated by where ball is struck with bat, not on thickness of barrell... backspin is not the root to all distance/power in a hitter.. hitting the ball solid is - back half middle. the ball is gonna have backspin or topspin on it every time.. well, 99.9999% of time hardly ever going to knuckle...
crisper hits/consistent hits are the effect of better eye/hand coordination, not a certain bat...
PARENTS- Don't drink the Kool-Aid!!!
Lev- besides all my young hitters (pre-high school) I have over 50 players I have worked with (since pre-high school) playing in college, including a rescent Big XII Player of the Year, 13 in minor leagues and five currently on big league rosters... non are where they are because of a youth bat being more forgiving... they have quality mechanics....
I hate to sound like Ted Williams, but it ain't the arrow, it's the indian.... keep pushing your b.s. though... hopefully your making your $$ somehow in all this garbage...
its not easier to stay inside the ball with a certain bat.. but it is with certain mechanics - if taught properly.. it is NOT easier to hit up the middle with a balanced bat.. there is a correlation between where the pitch location is relative to where ball is hit to on field.. not on if bat is balanced or not, that is silly... u r telling me that a pitch on outside corner would be more effortlessly hit up the middle because of bat balance? that ball should be hit to opposite field no matter the bat.... batters can wait longer, if taught how to get into launch position correctly and taught how to generate (with body) batspeed with correct mechanics.. wait and see is an eye/brain thing, not a bat thing..... physilogy 101
backspin is dictated by where ball is struck with bat, not on thickness of barrell... backspin is not the root to all distance/power in a hitter.. hitting the ball solid is - back half middle. the ball is gonna have backspin or topspin on it every time.. well, 99.9999% of time hardly ever going to knuckle...
crisper hits/consistent hits are the effect of better eye/hand coordination, not a certain bat...
PARENTS- Don't drink the Kool-Aid!!!
Lev- besides all my young hitters (pre-high school) I have over 50 players I have worked with (since pre-high school) playing in college, including a rescent Big XII Player of the Year, 13 in minor leagues and five currently on big league rosters... non are where they are because of a youth bat being more forgiving... they have quality mechanics....
I hate to sound like Ted Williams, but it ain't the arrow, it's the indian.... keep pushing your b.s. though... hopefully your making your $$ somehow in all this garbage...
quote:Originally posted by Diablo con Huevos:
Lev- the best hitters I have seen, swing wood bats, not balanced bats...
its not easier to stay inside the ball with a certain bat.. but it is with certain mechanics - if taught properly.. it is NOT easier to hit up the middle with a balanced bat.. there is a correlation between where the pitch location is relative to where ball is hit to on field.. not on if bat is balanced or not, that is silly... u r telling me that a pitch on outside corner would be more effortlessly hit up the middle because of bat balance? that ball should be hit to opposite field no matter the bat.... batters can wait longer, if taught how to get into launch position correctly and taught how to generate (with body) batspeed with correct mechanics.. wait and see is an eye/brain thing, not a bat thing..... physilogy 101
backspin is dictated by where ball is struck with bat, not on thickness of barrell... backspin is not the root to all distance/power in a hitter.. hitting the ball solid is - back half middle. the ball is gonna have backspin or topspin on it every time.. well, 99.9999% of time hardly ever going to knuckle...
crisper hits/consistent hits are the effect of better eye/hand coordination, not a certain bat...
PARENTS- Don't drink the Kool-Aid!!!
Lev- besides all my young hitters (pre-high school) I have over 50 players I have worked with (since pre-high school) playing in college, including a rescent Big XII Player of the Year, 13 in minor leagues and five currently on big league rosters... non are where they are because of a youth bat being more forgiving... they have quality mechanics....
I hate to sound like Ted Williams, but it ain't the arrow, it's the indian.... keep pushing your b.s. though... hopefully your making your $$ somehow in all this garbage...
I've never seen so little thought compressed into so many words. You still have not gotten on topic and stated the best youth bat.
quote:
the kids i work with that are younger than high school age use drop 3 bats after two weeks ....
So you have 8 year old kids swinging 31 inch/28 ounce bats? You've got to be kidding me. I don't believe that at all.
quote:i will take any youth bat....
quote:the "best" bat on the market is just a scam... buy anything... borrow a teammates...
this is one of two times i said which bat to choose...
i don't have any 8 year olds now... but have in past and 9n yr olds, etc... and if we cant find a bat that is drop three they swing (during lessons/practice) wood which is equivalent to drop three or drop zero...
they can do it, don't set there limits for them...
how'd you like it if your son went to school and teacher told them they weren't going to teach them this or that because they prob couldnt do it anyways....
"more players don't reach their potential due to lack of proper instruction rather than lack of ability." _ Rod Dedeaux, Legendary Coach of USC
they can do it, don't set there limits for them...
how'd you like it if your son went to school and teacher told them they weren't going to teach them this or that because they prob couldnt do it anyways....
"more players don't reach their potential due to lack of proper instruction rather than lack of ability." _ Rod Dedeaux, Legendary Coach of USC
quote:Originally posted by Diablo con Huevos:
i don't have any 8 year olds now... but have in past and 9n yr olds, etc... and if we cant find a bat that is drop three they swing (during lessons/practice) wood which is equivalent to drop three or drop zero...
they can do it, don't set there limits for them...
how'd you like it if your son went to school and teacher told them they were going to teach them this or that because they prob couldnt do it anyways....
"more players don't reach their potential due to lack of proper instruction rather than lack of ability." _ Rod Dedeaux, Legendary Coach of USC
I guess the bat companies like Easton and everybody else are just wasting their money with all that silly research and development. I guess taking buckets of balls, numerous models of bats and hitting them off the tee and measuring distance doesn't matter either. You are wasting time trying to argue that these bats don't matter. Some bats hit better than others. It is that simple.
There is a reason composite bats are being banned in the NCAA. Do you even know how an Exogrid compares to a Rawlings Liquid Metal on the field? Or the difference between an Easton and Louisville and how they feel? How about MOI? How about how some bat cuts work great as a kid and don't work as well as you get stronger.
Kids need great mechanics. I'm not going to argue that point. It is first and foremost. However, bats hit differently and there are some that are a lot better than others.
To argue there is no difference between a $50 and $200 bat is absurd.
I've seen great youth hitters swing drop 3's too and they drop the bat head and pop up too much.
My team is 10u age and we do teach proper mechanics and use wood in practise/cages.
But as far as bat selection almost every kid on my team swings a TPX triton big barrel -10.1 kid swings the tpx exo grid but i do feel it is too end heavy for him. I have had kids swing the easton stealths but they do break alot. Anderson makes a great bat also but you have to be a stonger kid for those. Just my 2 cents.
But as far as bat selection almost every kid on my team swings a TPX triton big barrel -10.1 kid swings the tpx exo grid but i do feel it is too end heavy for him. I have had kids swing the easton stealths but they do break alot. Anderson makes a great bat also but you have to be a stonger kid for those. Just my 2 cents.
quote:Originally posted by Coach_Dave:
My team is 10u age and we do teach proper mechanics and use wood in practise/cages.
But as far as bat selection almost every kid on my team swings a TPX triton big barrel -10.1 kid swings the tpx exo grid but i do feel it is too end heavy for him. I have had kids swing the easton stealths but they do break alot. Anderson makes a great bat also but you have to be a stonger kid for those. Just my 2 cents.
I have found the same thing with the Exogrid for young kids. They are too end heavy. The Triton is a great bat. These bats all differ in what they bring to the table and the Triton is one of the best.
As they approach 13U then the Exogrid becomes a little easier to handle.
Lev- they are not wasting their money... they are making a ton of money... yes they are doing research.. but none of the bat companies do INDEPENDENT research, it is all by "researches" they choose and they post the results they want... sure technology is there, but it is to make a mi**** a hit, that is it plain and simple. That way mom and dad will buy them... no real difference in top 10 bats out there...
same concept as in when you go to target and go to the action figures and look for batman. There is a batman in a gillion different color patterns (same figure though)... but by having a bunch the kid will want to collect all of them... making the manufaturer very happy... its called Marketing 101.
in your professional opinion, who will produce better results: the best high school player in your home town swinging your latest "best" 2010 Model bat OR the best hitter in the AFLAC game this year swinging a bat that is 8 years old? Yes, the AFLAC athlete who would have better mechanics, repeatable swing out there...
YES, there is a difference between a $50 bat and a $200 bat... but i will take the $50 bat and a player with good mechanics than the average kid with a $200 bat...
those bats are being banned from college because they soften and have a greater trampoline effect.. and? they can make a bat that could hit a ball 600 feet... doesn't make the player better.
and with that "great" youth player dropping barrel of bat... well, the bat head will ALWAYS be below the hands - or dropped - unless the pitch is a high fastball... then it would be parallel to ground...
but you probably teach barrel above hands/don't drop bat head - which is my point... a kid needs that $200 bat when taught by people that don't know how to teach, because their failure rate is so high relative to the kid taught that the barrel will always drop at the begining of his swing....
ever wonder why at almost every major league instructional camp (for players just drafted out of high school) they have to go through a delearning of "aluminum bat mechanics"...
same concept as in when you go to target and go to the action figures and look for batman. There is a batman in a gillion different color patterns (same figure though)... but by having a bunch the kid will want to collect all of them... making the manufaturer very happy... its called Marketing 101.
in your professional opinion, who will produce better results: the best high school player in your home town swinging your latest "best" 2010 Model bat OR the best hitter in the AFLAC game this year swinging a bat that is 8 years old? Yes, the AFLAC athlete who would have better mechanics, repeatable swing out there...
YES, there is a difference between a $50 bat and a $200 bat... but i will take the $50 bat and a player with good mechanics than the average kid with a $200 bat...
those bats are being banned from college because they soften and have a greater trampoline effect.. and? they can make a bat that could hit a ball 600 feet... doesn't make the player better.
and with that "great" youth player dropping barrel of bat... well, the bat head will ALWAYS be below the hands - or dropped - unless the pitch is a high fastball... then it would be parallel to ground...
but you probably teach barrel above hands/don't drop bat head - which is my point... a kid needs that $200 bat when taught by people that don't know how to teach, because their failure rate is so high relative to the kid taught that the barrel will always drop at the begining of his swing....
ever wonder why at almost every major league instructional camp (for players just drafted out of high school) they have to go through a delearning of "aluminum bat mechanics"...
yeah but... take a kid with great mechanics and give him a real bat, and it's special.
Anderson bats are end weighted by design, great bats. The -3 Nanoteck non composite is great.
Anderson bats are end weighted by design, great bats. The -3 Nanoteck non composite is great.
I don't want to enter into the debate, but to answer the original question, the Easton Reflex is a good bat for kids.
I never thought I would do so, but I spent more money on a bat when my son was playing up on a select team and everyone else had these expensive bats. (TPX Catalyst) At the same time, I bought him a Reflex to use at the cages, or when it the grass was wet, etc. He still has both and he likes them.
FWIW- I see a lot of kids using the Reflex at the LL park and I would buy another one if his got lost.
I never thought I would do so, but I spent more money on a bat when my son was playing up on a select team and everyone else had these expensive bats. (TPX Catalyst) At the same time, I bought him a Reflex to use at the cages, or when it the grass was wet, etc. He still has both and he likes them.
FWIW- I see a lot of kids using the Reflex at the LL park and I would buy another one if his got lost.
TPX Omaha, preferably used or last years model.
A 28" should do. I have a couple in the garage I could ship you for a fee.
have a 27" 28" 29" 31" we don't use anymore.
A 28" should do. I have a couple in the garage I could ship you for a fee.
have a 27" 28" 29" 31" we don't use anymore.
I recommend Rawlings 5150, I bought this bat for my 8 year old son. Although it weighs 17.6 ounces, he made a steady contact, it has a good bounce, and the right length.
Check sideline swap - might be able to get a deal on there.
Mercari also has some solid deals on used bats
Use chart to find the right length and then swing samples to find good bat speed.
At 8 the defenses can't consistently make a play on anything put in play so anything he likes should be fine. By 10 and 12 bat selection starts to come into play.
The 8yo this thread was started about in 2010 would have graduated high school by now. I scanned through the thread. A pissing match over a bat for an 8yo is amusing.
At seven and eight my kids swung Walmart specials. They were basically lead pipes. I was amused when my son was ten how many parents purchased a $60 TPX Laser for their kid. They thought it was the best bat. It wasn’t. The best hitter was hitting with one.
I’d focus on bat speed and don’t buy something he’ll grow into. I made this mistake when he was around 8. I saw a bunch of people still making this mistake at 14.
I believe the hot bat when my son was 8/9 was that blue combat.
