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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
We have now spent considerable time both in the cage and during games with the 2018 DeMarini Voodoo One balanced. It is a light swinging version of the older Voodoo Insane and does really well against a bat like the Rawlings VELO.
The bat is built for a value purchase in the single piece aluminum space for players who want that hot out of the wrapper feel on a light swinging single piece aluminum bat. From our view, it is easily recommendable. In more detail below are our 2018 DeMarini Voodoo One reviews and recommendations.
Why You Might Like: The price—or a performance space bat the Voodoo One reaches more players’ bottom lines; Stiff, singe piece bat delivers great power transfer to the ball; Hot out of the wrapper means no work in period—you know it’s ready to rock on day one. Why You Might Not Like: Barrel size could be larger, but it is not small; Although the light swing helps generate; Control and bat speed, it works against you in terms of overall power; Although hand ring was not a serious concern with our testers, do know that single piece aluminum bats tend to ring the hands more on mishits than the buttery feel of two piece bats
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In terms of a single piece aluminum bat the world is your oyster. There are literally dozens of cheap and not so cheap single piece bats on the market today.
If you narrow those down by ones claiming to be in the performance space and those that have a light swing weight, the list gets much smaller.
One bat that still fits the bill is the 2018 Louisville Slugger 517 Omaha. It, like the Voodoo One, comes in a number of sizes and focuses on a lighter swing within a single piece aluminum bat.
There are other similarly priced single piece aluminum bats. Those, like the Rawlings VELO and Marucci CAT 7, also use some variable wall thickness and unique tech in the handle or knob to be different enough that we would keep them off the comparable list.
The biggest upgrade to the line of the 2018 Voodoo One Balanced is the addition of sizes. As in 2017, the bat will come in a drop 10 2 3/4 as well as a BBCOR. For 2018, expect an additional drop 10 in the 2 5/8 space as well as an iteration in the new USAbat makeup.
In terms of overall performance, barrel size and swing weight, there are no considerable differences between the 2018 and 2017 models. The 2017 model, especially in the BBCOR space, was a rock star of a bat. The vast majority of individual reviews, including our own review, were glowing. For the right type of hitter the 2017 Voodoo One Balanced was a perfect fit. We expect it to be no different for the 2018 model.
As a single piece aluminum bat there are not many unqiue changes a company can make. (Ahem, says the Rawlings VELO). DeMarini’s Voodoo One is a light swinging single piece aluminum bat built with a large barrel and stiff feel in mind.
DeMarini refers to this alumimnum as a X14 alloy. It is the same material used in the 2017 bat. The alloy is a reference to an aluminum with different additives. Those additives are often proprietary to the companies that make them and are used to create a more durable bat without sacrificing swing weight and barrel size.
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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