6. How to Buy
Deciding on the length and weight of the bat you swing is a
personal choice - you should try combining what is comfortable
with what style of player you want to be.
If you envision yourself being a contact player like Ichiro Suzuki,
you won’t worry as much about losing inertia with your swing,
but if you want to be a power hitter like Giancarlo Stanton and
swing for the fences, you’ll want the inertia you would get from
the shorter, heavier bat.
You can refer to the chart below to give you a ballpark idea of what
bat drop you should be using. Keep in mind that the chart below
can be used to find bat drop for both baseball and softball bats
and it can be used by both adult and youth players
7. Senior League
Senior league baseball bats do not meet the same BBCOR
standards as adult baseball Bats, Therefore these bats are
available in different length to weight ratios to help meet the
needs of younger players as they develop their swings. As the
player get stronger and more efficient in his/ her mechanics, s/he
has the option of using a heavier bat to help with the transition
into the world of bbcor and drop weight. Remember, the smaller
the number, the heavier the bat. So if a bat is-10, the difference
between thelength and the weightis -10, whereas -5, the
difference 5. Eg. A -10, 10 in bat will weight 20oz while a -5, 30in
bat will weight 25oz
8. Little League
Little League 2 1/4 diameter barrel refers to the barrel size of the
youth baseball bats. The size of the barrel is standard. Bats,
for little league with 2 1/4 inch diameter barrel come from
various companies.
There are many popular brands. The Louisville Slugger TPX YB104
Air Response -12 oz Youth Baseball Bat, Easton LZ 811 Havoc
Power Hitter -9 oz Youth Bat, Rawlings Raptor Little League Bat,
Nike MX5 Little League Bat and many others.
These bats come in the category of blemished bats and in closeout
sales. But that in no way impedes the performance of the bat
9. High School Baseball Bat
Hit a homerun with high school approved bats. Probaseball
bats offers a wide selection of high school certified bats.
These BBCOR swingers will have you running bases in no
time. What’s the difference among BESR, BBCOR and ABI
tests? The BBCOR (Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution)
test is taking over for BESR (Ball Exit Speed Ratio). BESR
tested a bat’s “exit speed.” BBCOR bat testing has replaced
this test because the NFHS and the NCAA wanted a new
bat rule that required bats to perform more like wood than
the BESR standard. This new BBCOR test does just that - it
makes sure that composite and aluminum bats perform like
wooden bats even after they are broken in by including an
ABI test (Accelerated Break-In Test). This test simulates
bats that have been used heavily.
10. Youth Baseball Bats
Youth Baseball Bats are built for younger baseball players
usually between 6 and 12 years old. Youth baseball bats can
be made from composite, aluminum, or a mixture of both.
The best selling bats are minus 9 ounce length to weight
ratio to minus 13 ounce length to weight ratio. A youth
baseball bat will have a 2 1/4" diameter barrel, and have
the USSSA 1.15 BPF stamp, along with stamps of
certification for play in Little League, Pony Baseball, Babe
Ruth, Dixie Youth, Cal Ripken, and Dizzy Dean.
If your league allows you take advantage of the larger 2 5/8"
and 2 3/4" diameter bat barrels, please see our Youth Big
Barrel Bats category.