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By Bat Digest | Last Updated August 2, 2022
The 2020 Slugger META is legendary. Despite what the eBay price differences will suggest, the same bat as the red 2019 BBCOR Meta. Slugger literally changed the bat’s color, admitted as much, and resold it as the 2020 Meta. The bat has a huge barrel and has redefined what a two-piece composite should sound and feel like. Aside from its astronomical secondary market price and the 33-inch being illegal, we have no complaints.
Our hitters, who used the 2019 Meta Prime extensively, loved the same things in 2020 that they loved in 2019. That is, a huge barrel, great sounds and a real smooth smash on impact. In terms of our exit speeds the 2019 version was top-shelf stuff. Since there are virtually no changes to the 2020 Meta then our expectations are high on this one.
Although the bat is not cheap, we never spoke to a player who didn’t think the Meta Prime from 2019 was outstanding and ‘worth it’. It received our highest rankings and ratings directly from players. As such, we think the 2020 Meta will be right up there with it. So, despite it pricing out higher than any other BBCOR bat on the market today, we expect it to fit well to the hitter who:
Loves smooth smashes of two-piece composites
Has no budget
He likes a big barrel and light swing.
| 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
|---|
Compared to the 2020 Meta you have a litany of high-end composite two-piece bats to compare. Some consider 2020 DeMarini’s CF a good comparison. Others prefer bat’s like the Rawlings Quatro Pro or Easton’s Project 3 ADV.
There are no changes between the 2019 Meta Prime and the 2020 Meta. Aside from this, obviously, the removal of the word Prime from the name as well as the colorway to a blue base.
There is, we should note here, a Meta PWR version of the bat. This is, simply, the same bat with a 10% end load. Expect the Meta PWR to be built for the elite college guy who can handle all the swing weight you can give him. Occasionally, there might be an elite High School hitter who wants the power of the Meta PWR. In many cases, big hitters prefer aluminum barrels and, often, single-piece bats. As such, we don’t expect the Meta PWR to be a huge draw.
The 2020 Slugger Meta is a two-piece composite bat with a stiff connection, huge barrel, and middle of the road swing weight. The connection piece (called the 3FX) as well as the barrel material (EKO0, handle material and end cap are the same as last year. Expect a beautifully constructed bat that demands, and gets, the highest price point on the market.
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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