Best Coach Pitch Bat | Baseball and Fastpitch Softball

We spent several hours in the cage, online and in-game, checking the prowess of several coach pitch bats. Also, we have spent well over a thousand hours testing and reviewing other bats. We came away with a good sense of what makes a good coach pitch bat. Or, as some say, Junior Big Barrel bat. In short, and pretty obviously, a good coach pitch bat lets a player hit the ball more often. Those more often shots come with a better exit speed. We found three over-arching principles in determining the best coach pitch bat:

• As much Barrel Size as Possible per given Swing Weight:

  More barrel size gives more chances to put the ball in play. But more barrel at the expense of too heavy a bat isn’t helpful for most young players. Finding a bat with as much barrel face as possible without sacrificing a low swing weight is ideal and proves the most successful.

• Sting Dampening on the Hands-on Mishits:

  Few things convince a player that he doesn’t like to hit baseballs faster than a hit that rings the hands. Bats can be designed to dampen sting. The best coach pitch bat should dampen hand sting.

• The Sickest Paint Job:

  It’s not far-fetched to understand how a grown man’s confidence at the plate can seriously affect their batting and slugging percentage. Look no further than the pomp and circumstance of MLB hitting swag. That serves virtually no other purpose than that of looking good. Extending that idea to little tykes may be uncomfortably vain. But it doesn’t make it any less adorable. As determined by mini players, sweet-looking bats are the key to confidence, which is a serious key to success at the plate.

The main reason a composite coach pitch bat makes sense is because composite produces the lightest swing weight. Composite coach pitch bats tend toward a lighter swing weight. Aluminum alloy equivalents tend to swing heavier. There are some exceptions to this but on the whole it stands true.

It should be noted, however, a decrease in swing weight is achieved more easily by shortening the bat’s length. For example, if 27 inch aluminum coach pitch bat is too heavy for a particular player, then dropping to a 26 or 25 inch will give them a better chance at the appropriate swing weight. At least, a better chance then just changing from aluminum to composite.

Some may argue a composite coach pitch bat may be appropriate for that advanced 7 or 8 year old. Some, it is true, can wield some power. If such a player does exist, and we am sure they do, then they shouldn’t waste their time on a bat rated for 35 mph pitches. There are plenty of bats in the 2 3/4 ‘Big Barrel’ or ‘Senior League Space’. These will work for them just fine and we recommend that route.

Junior big barrel bats are often referred to as coach pitch bats. Big Barrel bats have a big barrel like the JBB and coach pitch bats, but they are rated for higher pitch speeds. JBB/Coach Pitch bats are big-barreled but are rated for slow pitch speeds and are often in very short sizes (like 25, 26, and 27 inches).

There are several 2 3/4 or 2 5/8 coach pitch “big barrel” bats. In theory, you want to get the most oversized barrel possible. Most non-USA Bat leagues allow a 2 3/4 bat. The 2 5/8 bats are leftovers from days gone by (when USSSA 2 5/8 1.15 BPF bats made sense.

In other words, get a 2 3/4 if you can. The 2 5/8 (with a USA Bat stamp) must suffice if you’re in a USA Bat league.

In 2018 very few bats made a light swinging USA Bat. It is why we like, and suggest, the Rawlings Threat as it is a drop 12.