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2016 Rawlings 5150 Review

By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022


In addition to the offerings we’ve come to expect from the Rawlings 5150, the 2016 iteration will also contain a hybrid bat in the senior league big barrel market.


Price Check


2016 5150 Video

2016 5150 Video

2016 5150 Models


This two piece 2 3/4 bat will use the same alloy found in the other 2016 5150’s for the barrel, but also add a composite handle on the bat to help dampen sting.

BBCOR
USSSA –10
USSSA –10
USSSA –5
USSSA –11
USSSA –13

Model Recommendations

BBR53

BBCOR Review

5150 BBCOR Ratings (key)
4 2 5 4 2 3 4 4 5 4
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Sizing: 30, 31, 32, 33, 34-inch
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Serial: BBR53
Bat Type: Single Piece Alloy
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
See other BBCOR Bats
SL5R34

USSSA Drop 10 Review

5150 USSSA Drop 10 Ratings (key)
3 2 5 4 2 3 3 4 5 2
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Sizing: 27, 28, 29, 30, 31-inch
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Serial: SL5R34
Bat Type: Single Piece Alloy
Barrel Size: 2 3/4
See other Drop 10 USSSA Bats
SL5R10

USSSA Drop 10 Review

5150 USSSA Drop 10 Ratings (key)
3 2 5 4 2 3 3 4 4 2
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Sizing: 27, 28, 29, 30-inch
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Serial: SL5R10
Bat Type: Single Piece Alloy
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
See other Drop 10 USSSA Bats
SL5R5

USSSA Drop 5 Review

5150 USSSA Drop 5 Ratings (key)
3 2 5 4 2 3 3 3 5 2
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Sizing: 30, 31, 32, 33, 34-inch
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Serial: SL5R5
Bat Type: Single Piece Alloy
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
See other Drop 5 USSSA Bats
YBB511

USSSA Drop 11 Review

5150 USSSA Drop 11 Ratings (key)
3 2 5 4 2 3 2 3 3 2
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Sizing: 25, 26, 27-inch
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Serial: YBB511
Bat Type: Single Piece Alloy
Barrel Size: 2 5/8
See other Drop 10 USSSA Bats
YB5R13

USSSA Drop 13 Review

5150 USSSA Drop 13 Ratings (key)
3 2 5 4 2 3 3 2 5 2
MOI Tech Drb Flx Prof ReSl PlaRa ExVe Relv Dmnd

OVERALL/10
Sizing: 27, 28, 29, 30, 31-inch
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Serial: YB5R13
Bat Type: Single Piece Alloy
Barrel Size: 2 1/4

Comparable Bats

By way of comparison to other bats on the market:

  • The single piece 5150 could be considered an end loaded version of the 2016 Rawlings VELO.
  • Its nearest competitor on the market is probably Louiville Slugger’s 516 Omaha—although the Omaha doesn’t have the extended composite end cap.
  • Another similar bat to the 5150 single piece may be the Mizuno Generations—which also has varying wall thickness along the barrel for better weight distribution. But the Generations is more hand-loaded than the balanced 2016 5150.
  • The new Senior League hybrid 5150 may have a similar competitor in the NVS Vexxum from DeMarini and the 716 Select from Slugger—both of which are also two-piece hybrids with a slight end load.
  • The 5150’s swing weight comes in about 10% heavier than the VELO making it similar, in swing weight, to the Voodoo Raw.

Previous Models

Before last year, the 5150 was considered an end-loaded bat. In 2015 (and 2016) Rawlings added a composite end cap–the same one found on the VELO. This lowered the swing weight of the 5150 dramatically. As a result, many vendors’ websites and YouTube videos claim the 5150 is now balanced. But that information isn’t particularly helpful considering the Rawlings VELO—which vendors also claim is balanced—has a noticeably lighter swing weight than the 5150. To make it clear, we like to refer to the VELO as having a hand-load while the 5150 is balanced. Hopefully, one day, the nomenclature will catch on.

Construction

Other than that unique senior league big barrel hybrid, the other 2016 Rawlings 5150 will continue to be a single piece of alloy from the handle through the barrel. Like last year’s model, it also has an extended composite end cap covering about two inches of the end of the barrel. While this makes the traditional 5150 a multi-piece bat, it is often referred to as a single piece alloy simply because there is no transition between the handle and barrel to a different material.

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.

Download our data.