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By Bat Digest | Last Updated June 9, 2022
Our hitters liked the big barrel, end load, and fantastic feel of the 2021 Louisville Slugger META PWR. However, it’s not a bat for everyone. The end load makes it one of the heavier swinging bats of 2021. It’s only built for big hitters. But, it turns out, most big hitters prefer the stiffer feel and hot out of the wrapper of single-piece aluminum or alloy bats. As such, although the Meta PWR can perform with the best of them, it sits atop an empty category all by itself.
The 2021 Louisville Slugger META PWR is the end-loaded version of the 2021 Meta. Our swing weight measurement showed it 5% to 10% heavier—a noticeable difference—compared to its non-end-loaded counterpart. In terms of pure performance, the bat performs and any upper-end BBCOR bat on the planet. It sounds different from the 2020 model due to an added piece on the barrel inside, but the feel and connection pieces are the same.
The 2021 Slugger Meta PWR is built for big hitters that prefer two-piece composite bats over single-piece aluminum or hybrid bats. That niche of players isn’t large as most big hitters like the stiffer feel of an aluminum bat and don’t want to worry about working a bat in. Despite the Meta PWR delivering top-end exit speeds and a great feel on hits and mishits, we don’t see the type of player the bat will attract.
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| MOI | Tech | Drb | Flx | Prof | ReSl | PlaRa | ExVe | Relv | Dmnd |
|---|
If you’re looking for a two-piece composite bat that has an end load, the only real option you have is DeMarini’s CF Insane (our review). However, that bat has very little distribution and appeal, and very few prefer it over single-piece aluminum or endloaded hybrid bats. Not because the CF Insane isn’t a good bat. But, as we stated above because most big hitters like aluminum barrels.
The Meta PWR is new for this year. You can find a 2020 and 2019 version of the bat but it is closer to the META in swing weight than the META PWR.
The 2021 META is a two-piece composite bat built with an endloaded feel. The connection piece is reasonably stiff, but not as stiff as a single piece bat or other big-hitting hybrid bats like The Goods.
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%).
(UR) Un Rated: An overall rating of UR means the bat has yet to be fully rated. When it is, this score will update.
(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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