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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
We spent three hours in the cage using the 516 in comparison to other single piece alloy bats and other bats in the 2016 Slugger line up
We also spent a good two hours reading early reviews online from real players. Overall we can confirm the bat has plenty of feedback on player hands during mishits—but the quick out the wrapper power expected in a one piece alloy bat—as well as it’s large barrel for this type of bat—makes it a remarkable stick for the 2016 class. Time will tell but it may be our favorite single piece alloy bat of the year.
The 516 Omaha is a classic bat that hasn’t changed much before or since. It’s a single piece bat with fantastic durability that performs up to the BBCOR standard at least some length of the barrel. Big hitters can hit it well and small hitters can usually make due. It stands as one of the better buys in the last 10 years of BBCOR bats.
| 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
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| 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
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| 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
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| 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
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| 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
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Single piece aluminum alloy bats in the performance space are the RIP-IT Air, the DeMarini Insane and the Easton S3 or Easton Z-Core. None of them, by our measurement, have quite the same low swing weight as the 516 although the S3 is very close. In this grouping, the 516’s barrel size is above average.
As an improvement to last years 515 Omaha, the 2016 version is made with a new lightweight alloy Slugger refers to the 7U1. This alloy blend has allowed for two significant changes in the bat’s 2016 design:
As well, it should be noted, the 2016 Louisville Slugger 516 comes with a standard lizard skin grip where the 515 did not.
Additionally the over-sized barrel for a single piece aluminum and the lighter swing from the new alloy puts the 516 in the top of the class of one piece alloy bats.
The overall rating uses seven different weighted metrics to determine our overall score. Half of total rating comes from the player and our exit speed tests (Player Rating: 25%, Performance: 25%).The other categories are Relevance (20%), Demand (10%), Durability (10%), Resell Score (5%), and Tech Specs (5%).
*: When a bat is denoted by a star (*) it is a preliminary rating. Expect it to be updated as we learn more about the bat and gather more data.
(PlaRa) Player Rating: We measure player rating from user reviews. Those users include our own hitters that we test at the lab as well as reviews we find online.
(ExVe) Performance: Performance measures the exit speeds and distances we capture in our hitting lab with HitTrax using these bats.
(Relv) Relevance: We measure the number of sizes and the MOI of the bat. Bats with a wider range of options get a better score.
(Dmnd) Demand: Demand is measured by consumer sentiment and the buzz around the bat.
(Drb) Durability: A bat’s durability is measured by user reviews as well as feedback from manufacturers.
(ReSl) Resell Score: Based on the price the bats go for used. Higher prices mean greater user demand which means, generally, a better bat. A resell value closer to its original price means a higher score.
(Tech) Tech Specs: We rate the bat on its technological advancements from previous years and compared to the industry at large. This is our chance to reward companies who are trying to innovate.
MOI
MOI or Mass Moment of Inertia is a measurement of bat swing weight. This quantifies how difficult it is to swing a bat. The industry often refers to this as things like End Load or Balanced but those words have been overused to the point of meaninglessness. We measure the actual swing weights of each bat we test using the industry-standard pendulum period, balance point, and scale weight. You can read more about that here.
Price
The price is the original MSRP price of the bat.
Type
The types of bats are single-piece alloy (SPA), two-piece composite (TPC), single-piece composite (SPC), hybrid (Hyb.), and wood (Wood). Hybrid bats are made of composite handles and alloy barrles.
Date
The estimated date the bat began distribution.
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