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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.
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.
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By way of comparison to other bats on the market:
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.
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.
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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