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By Bat Digest | Last Updated August 2, 2022
Not much has changed on the 2019 DeMarini Voodoo Balanced. It’s still a two-piece hybrid bat with a reasonably balanced swing, good barrel profile, and relativity stiffer feel than the two-piece composite world. The bat is very popular and difficult to find but everyone who has ever had the bat loves it. There is another version of this bat that has a heavier swing and a very stiff feel called the DeMarini Voodoo Loaded.
Some vendors have it one way and some the other. This is not to be confused with the Voodoo Insane or the Voodoo One. The Voodoo Balanced, the subject of this review, comes in a BBCOR as well as a USSSA and USA drop 10 and drop 5. We’ve hit with each of these DeMarini Voodoo’s for 2019 (as we have with the Voodoo line since 2014) and leave below what we have learned.
In so many ways the Voodoo Balanced is exactly what we want in a bat. A great feel and dynamite performance. It is no surprise the many elite hitters at the college level use the Voodoo lineup.
| 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
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| 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
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| 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
|---|
| 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
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In terms of a two piece hybrid bat with a composite handle and an aluminum barrel look how about Slugger’s 718 Select? These bats feel real similar in the USSSA and USA space and comes in a similar size and price.
In the BBCOR realm, we think the most comparable bat is Easton’s new Project 3 13.6 Hybrid. This is a mid to light swinging two piece hybrid. Big barrel and a proven connection piece. But, the 13.6 only comes in a BBCOR.
DeMarini claims to have made some upgrades to the handle in the 2019 version of the Voodoo. Our experience has been that we love both years of the bat line. We couldn’t tell much difference, in our hitting, from the 2018 or 2019 handle. Both feel great on hits and mishits.
The biggest difference is the addition of a drop 5 in the USA Space. A heavier swinging hybrid in the new standard will serve a lot of kids real well–especially those bigger 13 and 14 year old Babe Ruth players that can swing either BBCOR or USA.
The 2019 DeMarini Voodoo (Balanced) is a two piece hybrid bat. Hybrid refers to the fact that it has a composite handle and an aluminum barrel. The handle and connection piece is the same they use on their high end CF Zen and CF Insane lines. It is a decently stiff connection with good durability and a feel that most hitters just love. The barrel is a high grade aluminum that is considered a standard top shelf by most in the industry. More than a few elite college teams and players prefer DeMarini’s aluminum barrel over any other.
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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I just wanted to show that in the 30″ and 31″ Demarini Voodoo balanced, the Mass Index is lower, comparatively speaking, than in the 32″ and up. I talked to Demarini and this is by design for younger, smaller players. The 30″ Voodoo balanced swings lighter than the 30″ Zen and the 31″ swings the same as the 31″ Zen. The Voodoo Balanced starts to swing heavier than a Zen at 32 inches. I originally said at 33″. The 30″ Voodoo Balanced is a good option for 13U. The 625 Mass Index number is the same as what Louisville S. lists for the Solo… not sure about calculation accuracies though.
I agree that it’s best to be able to feel and swing a bat to compare, but some bats aren’t available, especially since all the sporting goods stores are gone and in some ares, all we’re left with is Dick’s.
If you look at the Demarini chart (Mass Index comparison chart) for their BBCOR bats on their website , the Voodoo Balanced has a lighter swing weight than the Zen in a 30″ and the same swing weight as the Zen in a 31″. At 33″, they start to swing heavier than the Zen.
https://www.demarini.com/en-us/bats/baseball-bats/2019-voodoo-balanced-3-baseball-bat
Louisville Slugger is also now listing the Mass Index of their bats for each length. Not sure if you can compare numbers of two different brands, but you can compare within the line-up of a brand.
https://www.slugger.com/en-us/baseball/aluminum-composite/bbcor/solo-619-3-2-5-8-bbcor-baseball-bat
Of course, individual bats will vary.
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