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By Bat Digest | Last Updated November 17, 2022
Franklin’s 2020 Venom Tee Ball Bat is a USA approved stick that comes in a drop 12, 11 or 10. The drop, you may want to learn if you’re going to get into this sport, is the numerical difference between the length of the bat in inches and the weight of the bat in ounces. So, a 26 inch drop 12 would have a scale weight of around 14 ounces. It is the perfect bat for the 3 through 6 year old looking for a cheap T Ball bat that will do just as good as any other. Here is our Franklin Venom T Ball bat review.
The bat is basic. It’s a metal bat that does a decent job of being light. In other words, it’s hard to like anything about it other than it is cheap. But, still, the fact we don’t hate anything about it makes it recommendable considering its a bat for a 6 year old that is $20.
You’d do well to check out our bat size chart to make sure you get the right size for your age. The bat comes in a drop 10, 11 and 12. At the upper end a 16 ounce bat is made for a 7 year old—and 16 ounces is the heaviest they make the Venom in a 26-inch drop 10. On the low end it comes in a 24 inch drop 12. As a 12 ounce bat you can expect kids as young as 3 or 4 to swing it alright. We’d size it out like this:
No other bat we know of comes in drops 10, 11 and 12 in small sizes. We think its why the Venom is so brilliant. Throw in a nearly unbeatable price and its an easy choice for most.
The Franklin Venom Tee Ball USA bat is a single piece alloy. In other words, its made from a single piece of aluminum. The grip is standard fare. Expect nothing remarkable about the Venom other than the fact it is remarkably basic.
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.