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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
2020 Louisville Slugger Omaha Review: Value. Value. Value. After hitting with every version of the 2020 Slugger Omaha, we are confident it will continue to dominate the value purchase realm of all baseball. It serves as a legit option for novice and expert alike in the BBCOR, USSSA and USA space with a reasonable price point most parents are willing to pay. Our favorite, if we had to choose, is the drop 5 USA Omaha. With the exception of the 33 and 34-inch BBCOR, 2020 Omahas are built with a light swing in mind. Those two BBCOR versions are intentionally built for a heavy swing. Our Score 9.8/10 (BBCOR); 9.5/10(USSSA); 9.8/10 (USA).
Our hitters like the big barrel and great feel when you put on on the sweet spot. Off the sweet spot you can expect some hand sting. But, many choose it over bats that are several hundred dollars more due to its performance and price points.
Note, the 33 and 34-inch bats swing very heavy. In fact, the 34-inch BBCOR Omaha is the heaviest swinging BBCOR bat Slugger (and pretty much anyone) makes. The 32, 31, 30 and 29-inch bats have an average to below average swing weight per length in the BBCOR category.
The 29-inch BBCOR is an ultra light swing, only slightly heavier than the lighest swinging BBCOR bat which is the Slugger Solo in a 29-inch.
We recommend the 2020 Louisville Slugger Omaha to players looking for a performance bat that is a value buy. It is a bang for your buck bat for sure. Although more expensive two piece bats feel better on the hands and likely have better performance on the outer ends of the barrel, the 2020 Omaha can make it fly if you can barrel it up and hits on the sweet spot feel as good as any thing on the market today.
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A single piece aluminum bat has some friends. There is not a bat company on the planet which doesn’t try and produce a big barrel, average swing on an aluminum bat in the performance space. The most successful of these is Marucci and their CAT line. Rawlings Velo and 5150 as well as DeMarini’s Voodo and Easton’s Beast line are all good examples. Each have their own reasons with the CAT winning in popularity and feel. Otherwise, if you’re struggling to choose between the Omaha and another single piece aluminum our advice, in most instances would be: flip a coin, move on with life.
Compared to the 2019 Louisville Slugger Omaha 519 there are no changes with the single exception of the 33 and 34-inch BBCOR swing weights—which increased dramatically. The 32-inch and below are the same bat.
On the USA and USSSA versions, the graphics are upgraded and that is it. Expect the same ST7 Alloy, 1 piece connection, Hub End cap and standard grip are on the 2020 Omaha.
The 2020 Louisville Slugger Omaha is a single piece aluminum bat with a simple end cap and standard grip. With the exception of the 33 and 34-inch BBCOR bat the 2020 Omaha should be considered an average to light swinging bat. The bat has not changed fundamentally upwards of 5 or 6 years—and this is not a bad thing.
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.