2021 Louisville Slugger Omaha Review

The 2021 Louisville Slugger Omaha is a single-piece aluminum bat in BBCOR and USSSA. The 33 and 34-inch BBCOR are in the endloaded category, while the rest, including those in the USSSA, are more balanced. For 2021, Slugger decided not to sell this bat wholesale. So, you can only find it directly on their website. The 2021 Omaha is true to its roots but does come with real upgrades from 2020. The handle's aluminum is reenginneered to help bring down sting. While hitting, we did not notice any differences.

The changes from 2020 to 2021 are as big as the Omaha has ever experienced. First, the bat uses a new alloy in the handle to help reduce hand sting. We did not notice any differences but can believe the claim to some extent. Second, the bat is no longer offered at major outlets. Instead, Slugger has kept the distribution all in house and the only way to buy the bat (at least in the beginning months) is through its online store. That second change is bigger than most consumers might imagine. The pressure on bat distribution channels to find sustainable margins has been very real the last several years. Covid has only multiplied that problem. As bat companies have consolidated, Amazon has grown in the bat space, and manufacturers have gone more to direct sales, the manner in which direction the money flows has changed companies and lives. Retaining one of their most popular bat lines ever in the 2021 Omaha to in house sales only cuts out major retailers and creates a want of independent information on these bats. Our estimation is that Wilson, the parent company of Louisville Slugger, is taking a considerable risk by cutting out their major distribution channels on one of the most popular bats of all time. Maybe, though, this is just an effect that COVID had on distribution and things will change come 2022? We will see.

The 2021 Louisville Slugger Omaha is a single piece aluminum bat with a big barrel and balanced swing weight. The 33 and 34-inch BBCOR bats have a swing weight and balance point that is more endloaded than the 29 through 32-inch versions. The USSSA version swings balanced compared to the rest of those in its class.