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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
The 2020 Posey28 Metal is the same, save the colorway, as the 2020 CAT 8. Which, turns out, is the same as the 2019 CAT 8 save, again, the colorway. Marucci releases their bats on a two year cycle—but for 2020 there was an NCAA white bat ban. So, we ended up (yeah for us) with a red on white CAT 8 for 2019, a red on black CAT 8 for 2020 and a unique ‘looks like wood, hits like metal’ in the 2020 Posey 2020. This entails our 2020 Marucci Posey28 Metal BBCOR and USSSA reviews.
Like all the CAT lines before it, our hitters love the huge barrel, stiff feel and smooth feel on both hits and mishits with the Posey28/Cat 8 lines. Since it is no different than the 2020 Cat 8, they liked it the same. A couple of non-Posey fans didn’t care for the design. Seriously, how can you not like Buster Posey? But, all the others thought it was fantastic.
If you want a stiff feel on a loud sounding single piece the Posey28 should treat you really well. The CAT 8 line is remarkably popular and all types of hitters, especially strong ones, love the power found in the Posey28. That applies to both the USSSA and BBCOR versions of the bats. Our hitters preferred the heavier drops in the USSSA–so the drop 8 and drop 5 over the drop 10 which they thought rung their hands a bit more. But, the market is in love with the drop 10 enough for us to think our hitters commentary was a bit off on the drop 10.
| 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
|---|
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
|---|
| 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
|---|
Obviously, the CAT 8 and CAT 8-Black are very comparable bats. So comparable, in fact, that they are exactly the same save the colors.
But, if you want to go outside the Marucci line of bats then consider a bat like the Slugger Omaha. The Omaha does not get as much pub, but it does get a lot of love from NCAA players. It is stiff like the CAT 8, has a decent sized barrel (smaller than the CAT in BBCOR and USSSA) but can hit rockets like the CAT/Posey28.
There was an older version of the Posey28. It was, you may recall, with a brown wood look instead of the dark grey. Compared to the 2020 version, the 2018 Posey28 (brown) was based on the CAT 7. So, in affect, the differences between the 2020 Posey28 and the 2018 Posey28 are the same as between the CAT 8 and the CAT 7.
We cover much of those issues in our CAT 8 review. But, in short, Marucci updated the alloy in the barrel as well as the added another variable wall thickness level to help extend the sweetspot. Not inconsequential changes but any means. That said, in terms of player feedback, folks liked the CAT 7 as much as they liked the CAT 8. So, were the changes measurable in the sense general player feedback? Probably not. But, there could have been some durability and marginal performance growths that aren’t observable.
The most unique feature of any Marucci Posey28 type bat is the anti-vibration knob they have pattended. In effect it is a harmonic dampening silicone type piece that sits inside the knob and extends partly through the handle. In the event a ball is mishit and vibrates through the bat then the knob absorbs the vibration before your hands do. Such technology is not just psuedo-science. Marucci has real data to prove it does work. Even more impressive, they have years of feedback and literally thousands of hitters that can attest to it working as well.
The Posey28 also uses variable wall thickness in the barrel. That is, if you were to cut the bat in half you would notice that the aluminum in the barrel walls is not the same width as it travels the length of the barrel. This change in thickness allows engineers to tune the barrels performance at different parts. They can make the middle of the barrel–where most spring is found naturally—and keep it under the limit while expanding the performance level of the ends.
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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