2016 Mizuno Generations Review

By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022

We should remind the reader we were originally high on the 2015 Mizuno Generations. For a single piece alloy, it has a considerable sweet spot and a really nice balance to the swing. After considerable use throughout the country, players who used the Generations bat still rave of its prowess—as we did in our original review of the 2015 model.

Price Check

2016 Generations Video

2016 Generations Video

2016 Generations Models

If you were a fan of the 2015 version then we see no reason you won’t think the 2016 version is fantastic due to its increased barrel size from added variable wall thickness in the barrel of the bat. As well, the addition of the drop 5 and drop 8 to the 2 5/8 Senior League bats round out this single piece aluminum bat as a full offering to the performance player.

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General Recomendations

We’d recommend the 2016 Mizuno Generations bat to those who prefer single piece aluminum bats and their traditional sound but also want (or need) a lighter swinging and very durable bat. Other’s who want to stay with Mizuno but would like a hybrid bat or one with a soft barrel might check out the 2016 Nighhawk or 2016 MaxCor respectively.

Model Recommendations

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Comparable Bats

The 2015 and 2016 Mizuno Generations are a unique blend in its single-piece aluminum with a tapered wall with a $200 price point. Other performance bats in the single-piece space, to name a few, would be the RIP-IT Air, the DeMarini Insane, the Slugger 516, and the Easton S3z. However, none of those bats have a tapered aluminum barrel like the Generations.

The bats with a tapered wall, which readily come to mind, are the Rawlings VELO, 2016 Axe Hyperwhip, and the 2016 Mizuno NightHawk. However, the VELO is a multipiece hybrid bat and the Hyperwhip has some unique design features like the tapered end knob and Axe handle. The Nighthawk, made by the same company as the Generations, is a hybrid bat.

Construction

The 2016 Mizuno Generations is a single-piece aluminum alloy design which, in theory, gives it maximum power transfer when hit on the sweet spot of the bat. As well, its aluminum design makes it highly durable when compared to two-piece and composite designed bat.

More uniquely, the 2016 Mizuno Generation baseball bat boasts a tapered alloy wall. This means that outside the center of the barrel the bat walls are thinner. The 2016 version, when compared to the 2015 version, has an even more pronounced taper and, hence, a larger barrel. This design feature allows the bat to perform at peak performance throughout the length of the barrel while still maintaining BBCOR standards and keeping a light swing weight.

As evidence that this idea has some steam, the tapered aluminum wall has been adopted in several bats within the market since Mizuno’s 2015 groundbreak.

Overall Ratings

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.