Bat Blog – Bat Digest

By Jon Zayle [Jon Zayle is a baseball dad from New Jersey who owns way too many bats. He declares himself a bat expert, similar to the way Michael Scott declared bankruptcy. He is currently working with Dr. Peter Venkman to create a device that will trap all travel baseball drama.] The fact that I’m …

By Ian RandlesThere is an abundance of baseball training aids on the market, and the price range varies greatly. It’s hard to know what is worth your money and what you’re better off passing in favor of saving for another bat.  We have tested one of those tools for you, the Power Up Wedge. …

As a player, I was always looking for ways to keep my swing locked in. But over the course of an eight month season (or longer when I played Winter Ball) there were peaks and valleys when it came to my consistency and it drove me nuts trying to find the proper swing once again. As I began coaching m …

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We asked 700+ people in the performance bat space about their experience with shaved bats. The responses were anonymous and revealed a great deal about bat shaving and its prevalence. We also did a side by side test of two identical bats, one of which was shaved. That side by side is in the video be …

Over the years, we’ve captured 10,000+ exit speeds on any number of BBCOR, USSSA, USA, BESR, and Fastpitch bats. This data collection effort, we believe, is the largest in history (at least that isn’t owned by a bat company), and the analysts of our dataset put us in a unique situation to measure ba …

We took some hacks with the Swingrail, had a few hitters try it out, and read every online review we could find about the device. Generally, we think it an above-average tool when compared to the number of swing gadgets on the market today. It helps players feel what “keeping their hands inside the …

If you’ve followed us at all you’ll know there are two things that trigger us: first, the idea that there are “must have” bats; second, the notion that, save the hallucinogenic effects of magic mushrooms, there would never be a reason to buy a bat in the secondary market for more than it’s MSRP pric …

We spent this entire year playing with and using baseball and fastpitch equipment and related devices and items. This comprises our favorite gadgets, gear and things for our best gifts for baseball players. These are the best gifts of baseball present. Gifts for Baseball Players Baseball Gloves Buy …

2021 Black Friday Baseball Deals are here! We are tracking all of them (and fastpitch too) as they go live. We look for deals and update this page daily or hourly the sooner the big day gets close. Quick Links: As the big day/weekend gets closer, expect to see most of the deals from these vendors on …

We intended to develop the most reliable bat size chart on the internet. To do so, we needed real user data. We also needed to see what tables were already out there. We found some weird stuff. And some useful stuff. We also think we developed the best one. That is what follows. Bat Size Chart [Surv …

We’ve tracked the bats of the college world series for several years. We’ve put that data into 7 charts. In good faith, we also put the data we capture out to the public here. You’re welcome to fact-check it or do with it what you will. Please tag us if you do. (The CWS is still ongoing, we’ll updat …

We have nightmares about a question we get all the time. Here it is: How good is that bat? For a site built on the idea that we can help people fitting the right bat, you’d think we’d welcome that question. We do. Yes. But we also don’t. No. The reason we do like it is that we think it’s a reasonabl …

Over the past few tournaments, there has been yelling, drama, more yelling, followed by explanations and then bouts of disbelief. And that is just at the snack shack. The field, and backstop fence, have their own experience. Much of this is caused by a mash-up of zealous parents, coaches, and umpire …

We tracked bat usage and the at-bat results of more than 30 NCAA baseball teams at the start of the 2021 season. Our hope was to find themes in the dataset that lent commentary on BBCOR bats. Data Highlights The industry lacks competition. 90% of NCAA baseball is ruled by Wilson and Rawlings. The re …

We have yet to hear anyone claim they purchased such a bat because they love the end cap. It’s the least sexy part of any bat. While the end cap gets put in the crapper, things like barrel size, brand name, and grip-feel are the features that get noticed. Some bat connoisseurs might notice the knob …

If you’re looking for info on what bat has the most pop, you’ve come to the right place. Some argue BBCOR and BPF standards have leveled the playing field for top-shelf bats, implying any particular model cannot be better than any other, as each bat can only be as hot as the standard allows. They co …

A few years back, I read The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The book tells the story of, among other things, the 1893 World’s Fair. One exhibit at the 1893 Fair (as far as I can remember from the book) used tobacco smoke for its supposed medicinal purposes. This exhibit, in particular, inve …

We’ve reviewed bats here since 2014 and we’ve seen a lot of innovation (and reprinting) in the bat space. From spinning handles, soft barrels, and bats filled with helium—all have tried to convince parents that their player’s bats are worth the premium. Another significant innovation in the last s …

We followed the picks (and highlights) of every 2020 MLB first-round draft pick. We are interested in what bats these players swung in College (or high school). We’ve put here everything we could find on the 1st MLB Bat Picks. The better a player gets, the less the bat makes the difference. That isn …

One question or complaint we hear a lot is about bat rattle. That is, when you shake the bat, it sounds like there is a small piece of plastic or metal shaking around in the bat’s barrel, and, as such, it sounds like a rattle. The vast majority of the time, the bat is fine. A small piece of glue (us …

Recent Illegal Bat Announcements Perfect Game Bat Bans 2021 Starting in 2021, Perfect game bans all the USSSA banned bats, see below, and the 2017 DeMarini CF drop 5, the 2016 USSSA CF8 line of bats (5, 8, 10), the 2015 CF7 in a drop 5 and the 2015 Eaton XL1 in a drop 5. All banned for Perfect Game …

If you talk to any bat manufacturer, one of the biggest shifts in youth baseball bats has been the increase of drop 8 bat purchases over the last few years. The growth in popularity of drop 8s has made many choose between a drop 8 vs. drop 10. Quick Takes on the Drop 8 vs Drop 10 dilemma. If you can …

Want to hit more home runs next season? We spent hours looking through scientific journals (it is the offseason, after all). What did we find? 5 Ways to Hit More Home Runs What Pitch to Hit Batter’s Box Warm-Up How To Take BP Rotational Strength Skip Forearms Quick Highlights Hit the curveball Scien …

There’s a lot of (mis)information out there about overload underload programs. The genesis of weighted bat training is justified in a clinical research paper in the Journal of Strength and Condition from 2009. It has been backed up by several others since. We discuss what is actually proven about un …

Blog > Opinion What an exciting day in Bat Land. It’s been a while since a bat ban has taken place with such a harsh, polarizing social media response. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in 2020, it’s that there are 16 sides to every story, and everybody thinks they know the answer. I surely don’t …

We’ve measured the vast majority of USA swing weights since 2018. Swing weights are a measurement of how difficult it is to swing a bat. Bat’s with the same stated weight (like all 30/20s) do not feel the same. What controls the degree of strength required to swing a bat is how the weight of the bat …

We’ve measured the vast majority of USSSA swing weights since 2018. Swing weights are the most determining factor in predicting exit speeds. More critical than barrel performance, model, or brand, the swing weight is what allows players to get the most mass to the ball at the right time. If swing we …

We measure the swing weight of every fastpitch bat we test. Most of our data is completed on 32/22 bats. We’ve found fastpitch bats have a very close grouping of swing weights with a few exceptions. We also think swing weight is the single most important piece of information to determine our exit sp …

After measuring thousands of exit speeds, we’ve found swing weight as the most important factor in predicted exit speeds. To be sure, swing weight is the most important feature of the bat, but not of the swing. Bat speed, mechanics, and other things that are hitter controlled are more important than …

We compared the 2021 and 2020 DeMarini CF in BBCOR, USSSA drop 10, 8, and 5. In short, the bat is EXACTLY (but a paint job and serial number) the same. And that’s not a slight on DeMarini. They are not claiming the bat is different. The CF is legendary and has dominated the USSSA space. So, why chan …

Bat compression test results describe the amount of pressure required to compress the barrel of a bat. A higher compression result (usually stated in terms of pounds per area) means a barrel’s walls are more rigid. A bat with a lower compression means the barrel walls are more flexible or elastic. S …

As we mostly sit around and wait for the little league world series (and the barrage of baseball bat releases that come right after that), we find our selves with a bit of time on our hands to show you some stuff we used this year but never got a chance actually to talk about it. Boombah is direct t …

Mizuno makes everything, and they tend to make everything well. They happen to make a pretty impressive wheeled bag. As travel ball becomes more and more popular, parents look for a convenient one bag to carry baseball gear. Mizuno’s solution to this is the MP ELITE wheel bag. This bag has a pocket …

Here’s a question we got from a reader I’m looking for a good first BBCOR for a 5’ 10’ 155 lb 8th grader. Because of cold weather in Ohio, He has swung mainly hybrids in the past and a few one-piece aluminum. He swung a 31/26 USA last year. He tends not to like the one-pieces because of vibration. T …

Zepp Labs lost a patent infringement case against Blast Motion. As such, they can’t sell the Baseball Bat Sensor in the United States anymore. However, you can still find them online or in the used market. These reviews if for them.  If this is the first time you’ve heard or seen the Zepp Labs baseb …

With the new USA Baseball Bats changes starting in 2018, we were reminded of this article we wrote in 2015 discussing the difference that BBCOR bats made on the BESR approved college and high school baseball game. (BESR, you may recall, was the standard used in high school and college before BBCOR). …

The Blast Motion Sensor for baseball and softball is a device that attaches to the bottom of your bat with a rubber mount. It sends, via Bluetooth to your smartphone, data points that capturing the performance of your swing. We used it, and write our review of it below. If you are entirely unfamilia …

We’ve used Lizard Skin grips on bats for the last five years. Although they now have competition, they are still our go-to and dominate the youth, collegiate and MLB market. If you have never put on a grip, we highly recommend you watch someone else do it before you dive in feet first. http://www.yo …

In conjunction with our exit speed bat testing and our barrel size measurements, we weigh bats and compare them to the stated weight. We found that stated bat weight is rarely what a bat actually weighs. Below we measured every bat we have for testing this year and put them in the table. We weighed …

My sons last year of little league was last year and he’s moving to a junior high league that requires USA bats. He swung a 31 inch drop 10 Easton beast hybrid and 31 inch drop 8 Rawlings machine last year. He has been playing for 4 years making the all star team each year. He has used both composit …

Dear Bat Guy, My son, age 9, is currently swinging the 2019 Slugger Prime -10 (*28/18). He is roughly 50″ tall and only weighs 52 lbs. At times, the bat seems too heavy for him, so would you recommend a drop 11 bat in 28″. I was looking at the Easton ADV 360 drop 11 USA, which has glowing reviews bu …

Dear Bat Guy, Having a difficult time deciding whether to purchase a new 2020 USA Bat or stick with the 2019 Solo we already have. Player is 10, 4’5” 65 lbs. Have been looking at a two piece composite for this year, have hit Easton, Prime, Quatro. Don’t want to make the wrong decision like I did las …

Dear Bat Guy, Soon to be 9-year-old son will play 9U in USSSA. He will be going up in size from a Cat 8 27” to a 28”. Trying to decide on the new Cat 9 that’s soon to come out or a DSB SWAG. How do they compare? He likes the balanced feel of his Cat 8. 4’5 “ 70 lbs. Thank you. ~Alex This is adapted …

Dear Bat Guy, I’m a big fan of your videos. My son is turning 11 in February. He swings a -10 Posey Marucci USSSA bat in club ball. He’s starting little league in a month and have no clue what USA bat to get. What’s the best one for him? He’s about 5ft and very thin. He has a very fundamental balanc …

 Dear Bat Guy, Looking to buy one bat only, broke it down between usssa cf (black and gold) and the Rawlings Quatro Pro (cherry bomb) recommend one to me please so I can stop trying to find videos of them against each other. Joey This is adapted from our advice section. Joey, Ha. We feel your pain. …

My [son] plays USA ball in the spring and USSSA in the fall. He is 8 years old, 4′-4″ and 60 pounds. He has played every year since 4, started taking hitting lessons 1 year ago and is a solid contact hitter put with good pop, hits to the fence…in the park hrs every season. He used a Rawlings 5150 …

My 10u son plays LL, so he has to use a USA bat. He is currently using a 2019 Rawlings Threat. He swings the bat very quickly. Two years ago, he used another Rawlings bat, which he was able to swing, but it was very end-loaded. He prefers the balanced bats, but I noticed he swings the truly weighted …

I received our refund from Wilson and looking at getting a replacement for the banned Meta Prime. We are limited to Wilson products. My son has swung the Demarini Voodoo and prefers something balanced. I’m just not sure that’s the right one for him. We have $550 to spend and want to get the best Wil …

Have you checked this bat out? I believe it’s only offered at Justbats.com. It seems to be very well-liked. I would like to hear how it compares to the Maxxum 360 BBCOR. Thanks, Anna (This is adapted from our Advice section). Anna, Yes. We have seen it and hit it. The story is long. But, in short, J …

Hi, this would be for USSSA 12U Majors. He is 57 inches tall and weighs 135lbs, muscular build.My son currently is swinging a 31-8 Easton Beast X or Ghost X but also has been swinging a Phoenix Bats DR271 -5 wood bat in the offseason. Considering looking at a -5 metal/composite bat to swing. I have …

Dear Bat Guy, Our summer league gives the option of USA Bat or BBCOR. If weight is not the deciding factor. Is there a difference in ball speed between the two in general? ~Tim (This is adapted from our advice section). Tim, This is a fun question so thanks for that. We’re going to break your questi …

We bought a new -3 (drop 3 BBCOR) two piece bat. Will it hurt the bat using it in a batting cage with rubber balls? ~JR (This is adapted from our advice section) We avoid hitting dimple balls with high end composite bats. Rubber balls don’t compress the same as baseballs (nor do they weight the same …

USA vs USSSA Bats (This is an article taken from our advice section). My son will be playing for the local 9U travel team (Stow, Ohio). He is 4’6” and approximately 85 lbs. He has been playing baseball for three years and is a solid hitter, not power, but lots of doubles, few singles, and one triple …

Here are the illegal DeMarini CF Zens: 2017 Green/White Drop 8 2 5/8 USSSA 2017 Blue/White Drop 10 2 3/4 USSSA 2017 Custom and Zero Dark Designs in the Above Sizing Here are the legal CF Zens: 2017 Green/White Drop 10 2 5/8 USSSA 2017 Green/White Drop 5 USSSA All Other Years and Model CF Zens See th …

When choosing your best bat, the first step may be deciding if you prefer a one or two-piece bat. Such a categorization divides your options roughly in half and helps wade through the ridiculous number of bat options on the market. To make that decision, we need to understand the real differences be …

We looked through every 2020 Prime Day Deal in the baseball and fastpitch space to find the deals we like. There appears to be a serious push on game quality baseballs. If you want to pursue the 92 pages of baseball deals yourself, see here. If you want to see the 10 pages of fastpitch deals, see he …

Little League Age Chart for 2020 (and 2019) follows. These cut-off age rules affect players born in August of 2002. Those born before are no longer eligible for “Little League” as they are too old. Not all little leagues follow the same age rules as Little League. (Notice the capitalization). Little …

We’ve seen more than 1,000 bats come and go. After heavy work with the bats, we usually ignore considerable ball marks and ball scuffs. But, now and again, we want to remove ball marks and clean the bat. How do we clean our bats? Two tricks we show below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVltMZ3z1cw …

We’ve spent more time buying used baseball bats than anyone. Really. Over the last five years, we’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on hundreds of different bats from no less than two dozen different sites and companies. Where do we buy our used bats? Well, that depends. Where do we (BatDigest.c …

[toc] Looking to buy your first serious baseball or softball bat? You’ve come to the right place. (Take our what bat you should get quiz) Over the years, we’ve bought hundreds of bats. We’ve also coached several into their first serious bat buy and recommended bats to millions more. Here is our begi …

Little League International and PONY baseball changed the birthday cutoff from May 1st to August 31st. Within Little League, this rule is gradually implemented starting from 2016 through 2019. PONY baseball implemented the change in 2018. See the official announcement via ESPN. Age Cutoff Following …

One industry secret to getting serious deals on big time bats is finding a blem bat. These bats are just what they sound like—functional but with a blemish, usually a cosmetic imperfection that occurred in the factory. There are typically NO warranties on these bats, although they do come new in w …

We took our Rapsodo hitting device and tested pre and post-break-in exit speed velocities on a brand new out of the wrapper 2018 Rawlings Quatro in a 31-inch drop 10. We found a slight increase in ball exit speed (1.0 mph faster) after the 200+ swing break-in period. Although the exit speed is posit …

If you are deciding which type of bat to get, then the following should be informative. The differences between a Composite, Aluminum, Hybrid, and Wood bat may be obscure, but the following makes it simpler. We compare each type of bat to the other three. Below, we also have some general recommendat …

If you have yet to hear, starting January 2018, bat standards for Little League (14 and younger) will change to a more restrictive bat with BBCOR like pop. The bats’ barrels can be 2 5/8– just larger than the 2 1/4 of previous years. They will go on sale beginning September of 2017 from most major …

Is bat shaving and bat rolling illegal? Our short answer is probably for rolling and flat out YES for shaving. There are some arguable exceptions and we discuss the reasoning behind our answer below. While there are a few sites that brazenly offer these services, most deals are found on eBay with se …

When Wilson bought Slugger a few years back it made it on our most important bat developments of the decade. Not 11 months into the new decade, who would have thought the industry already accomplished something that will be easy to make the most important things in this decade: Rawlings buying Easto …

We’ve spent at least 20 hours in the cage collectively with the MAKO TORQ brand of bats—including the BBCOR, Little League (youth) and Big Barrel versions of the bat. We’ve also seen the bat at the plate at least one hundred times and have spoken to nearly anyone we’ve seen who uses the bat, about …

We, baseball parents/players, live in a world of composite vs. alloy, USSSA vs. USA, USA vs. Wood, and the lists go on. There is typically little, if any, the discussion around composite wood bats. We change that here. What is a composite wood bat? Composite wood bats categorize a large selection of …

There are a lot of small wood bat companies. Of course, you have the usual suspects like Louisville Slugger, Marucci, Rawlings, and Sam. Newer guys, like Victus and Tucci, have hit the big time too. But there are also several small wood bat companies out there offering quality wood bats. Most of whi …

We’ve been asked more than a few times to compare the exit speeds of USA Bats and wood bats. We took up the challenge. Three different hitters of differing ability took over 300 swings with two competing bats. We measured the exit speeds on our Rapsodo device. Then, we compared to the 2019 Techzilla …

Very few “deal days” are actual “deal days.” (ahem, Harbor Freight). If every day is a deal, how can any particular day be a deal? We digress. Wilson’s Glove day is a beautiful exception. It’s deal-day on, you guessed it, gloves. They run it one time a year on what sometimes feels like a random day …

We’ve been writing about baseball and fastpitch bats for a long time. Since everyone else seemed to be writing about the decade in review, we thought we could look through old emails, traffic reports, and links to see what were the most significant things in the last decade about bats. Not surprisin …

The great irony of making a field and bat standard that allows less home runs is that it over values the kids who can hit home runs. Instead of creating value in small ball, it gives the teams who can hit it out of the park more value than they should. For example, Japan, Caracao and South Korea hit …

For the 2020 season NCAA baseball (not High School Baseball) is implementing a couple bat rule changes. They include details on the White Bat Ban as well as compression testing before each game. Compression Testing Before Each Series Compression testing is standard college fastpitch bat procedure st …

We spent weeks scouring eBay, Sidelineswap and used good forums trying to track down every BBCOR DeMarini Voodoo ever made. They went back to 2011. Eventually, we were successful. (Although the 2019 Voodoo Insane in a 32″ eludes us still). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F53P7TI_flI [toc] Method We …

Was Yoenis Cespedes’ Throw the Greatest? (Since the below was posted the blog sphere continued to erupt over details concerning the greatest throw ever. Those with a more sophisticated (read: accurate) approach got involved. Eric Lang produced a ‘white paper’ on the subject you can read here. It sho …

Bat throwing into the stands makes for some interesting photos. The one above most recently made famous by a boy who was more concerned about his clash of clans season then this fly Sam Bats baseball bat looked up just in time to open his mouth. Luckily, dad was there to help. About a year ago we po …

We won’t claim to know exactly when it started, but at spring training 2008 when Josh Womack warmed up by flipping a bat in a 360 horizontal turn mid-swing, a seed was planted in a generation of YouTubers. The search for all possible maneuvers before, during and after an attempt to swing a bat took …

Our second day at the Perfect Game Series Classic brought on some highlights and lowlights. We learned that umpires are late no matter how expensive the tournament, Pitch Smart Rules are stringent and well thought out, and elite 11U pitchers throw about 62+ mph. We also observed that kids from Calif …

We’ve all seen the posts on the internet claiming which is the best bat in each category.  Usually this is referring to performance, which is what most players are concerned about and rightfully so.  While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I’d like to look at this from a different angle.   …

A few years ago we discussed the effect of BBCOR bats on offensive performance. We found, as many did, the implementation of BBCOR standards pushed offensive performance to all time lows. We were not the only ones to notice. Starting in the 2015 season, the NCAA attempted to rectify this by using ba …

Starting in at least 2014, the two most popular baseball bats on the market include the DeMairni CF and the Easton MAKO series. 2017’s models introduce the Easton MAKO Beast and the DeMarini CF Zen. We have spent several hours hitting, reviewing and writing about both lines of bats. After significan …

Under our Best At-Bats section, we compile data from auction houses on bat sizes of past and present greats. That aggregated data shows some insights worth sharing. In particular, the sheer range of bat size metrics from Major League players is something we always find interesting. From our work so …

At the end of October of 2016, Bauer Performance Sports Group, who acquired Combat Sports Group in 2013 and who also owns the Easton brand, stated they would be filing to restructure their debt under bankruptcy laws. PSG will continue to operate under a new debt structure as investors work out the d …

Is a Baseball Swing Analysis worth it? Our general experience is, for most serious players, yes. Although swing analyses done by a third party hitting instructor or a gadget and app will never substitute for real practice, our two years of experience with these devices and services prove their worth …

Marucci Sports, a major player in the baseball bat space, announced today they have acquired Victus Sports. Victus, a mid level player in the pro-bat market who produced bats for Bryce Harper, among others, was the first wood bat company to license the asymmetric knob of Axe bats for use on their wo …

Any chat room or discussion group surrounding DeMarini’s 2017 CF Zen in the 2 3/4 size contains at least one thread on its durability. Justbatreviews has received at least a dozen questions about the bat’s durability. In short, at least when compared to other bats on the market, the CF Zen 2 3/4 cle …

DeMarini’s CF Zen and Slugger’s 917 Prime are similar bats. We have hit with both bat lines extensively, spoken to manufacturers about the lineup at length and discussed the bats with parents and players alike. In the BBCOR space, we personally prefer the 917 for no other reason than it simply feels …

What may be the two most popular bats this year in a number of baseball categories are the Marucci CAT 7 and the Easton MAKO Beast. Both bats come from respectable institutions with a history of producing great sticks. And although the bats compete for the same dollars, they are remarkably different …

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Wood bats have been around since the beginning of baseball—in fact, they were the beginning of baseball. Today, there are many different species of wood used to make bats. Each species has its benefits, lending it toward a specific hitter’s needs. We have compiled information on some of the most p …

Every successful hitter from Little League to the Major Leagues has three common traits. Good Mechanics Solid Mental Approach Good Timing These are the three pillars of great hitters.  Without even ONE of these traits, the hitter will struggle. As a former college and pro catcher, I needed to be sur …

I have been training baseball players since I was a pro player myself. Something like 30 years at this point and I’ve seen big changes in the Youth, High School and College games. Back in the day, we ALL played Little League and were forced to use the very specific 2 ¼” barrel that had to be “Little …

So you’re trying to decide between a Ferrari and a Lamborghini? That’s a difficult decision. The Easton Ghost X and the DeMarini CF Zen are the top of the line bats and their price tags reflect it. Of course, when we are spending that kind of money on a bat we want to make sure we are getting what w …

Over my long playing career I played for all kinds of different coaches with various types of personalities. Many of them had their own way of “motivating” players to get the most out of their talent. The BEST coaches looked to develop the player’s talent regardless of the immediate results. This ar …

As I look back on my playing career, I realize that I was EXTREMELY lucky to be born into a baseball family where I was taught at an early age the proper fundamentals of the game—especially hitting. In this article, I will break down the three basic parts of the swing that generate power and consist …

To go along with our best youth baseball bats, we thought it appropriate to make a list of the worst bats ever made. Forbid we leave out the other end of the spectrum! For reasons we explain below, each bat has its own path to the top—er, bottom—of the list. Some earned the distinction for strai …

When I was in Little League around 9 years old, my dad, a former MLB catcher, was our coach—and he stole the other team’s signs EVERY game. He knew the obvious indicators like the bill of the cap or swiping both arms. But funny thing was—he didn’t tell us. He let us play. As I got older and the game …

One of the most popular fast pitch questions asks to explain the difference between the Louisville Slugger LXT and Xeno. Below is a head to head comparison. Why Choose the XENO over the LXT? Find this in Stock The XENO is, about, $50 less than the LXT due to the fact the LXT has a slighter longer sw …

Last weekend at a game, it was 38 degrees here in Northwest Ohio or as we call it “the start of Spring baseball.” As we remember and learn every year, it is going to be cold the first month or so of our season. With the cold weather comes the need to alloy bats to remain totally un-phased by the col …

We watched just about every 2018 College World Series plate appearance. This includes all the games up to the finals (to be played this week between Arkansas and Oregon State) and amounts to 980 documented plate appearances. We marked what BBCOR bat they were using and a number of other metrics abou …

We measured the exit speeds of a BBCOR composite bat pre and post rolling. We found rolling did increase the bat’s average exit velocity but not by much. In our focused test (one bat, one hitter, 20 measured exit speeds) we found an increase of 1 mile per hour and just over 5 feet of distance. This …

Thinking of attending the Cooperstown All Star Village and want to know what to expect? You’ve come to the right place! One of our readers spent a week at the tournament and put together the most important Copperstown All-Star Village tips. These are 8 essential ‘need to knows’ before you go. Cooper …

Designing the best team trading pin for your Cooperstown trip is no small task. It requires planning, organization and finding the right fit to represent your team. Below you will find: 5 quick and easy steps to walk you through the process of creating a dream pin for your Cooperstown experience. 9 …

The finals of the LLWS are this weekend. The USA and International Championships are on Saturday. The finals are on Sunday. All via ABC. If you are just catching up, here are 7 things we’ve noticed after watching all 28 games leading up to this point. Consider this your primer on the 2018 Little Lea …

Thinking of buying a bat in September or October? 10/10 Only: DeMarini is doing an 50% sale. 10/10 Only: Louisville Slugger Doing a 50% Sale. Probably not. But that is just the point. It is officially the the BEST time to buy baseball and softball bats. Here’s why. Vendors and Manufacturers flush in …

Looking for a HitTrax Batting Cage near you? We spent time in the Dick’s Sporting Goods (Henderson, Nevada location) with their HitTrax setup to do some bat fitting and a home run derby. Here’s what we learned. https://youtu.be/kjozKDGWGq0 4 Things to Notice for Bat Fitting in a HitTrax Cage We’ve h …

If you want even more updates, check out our twitter feed. Updated 6/27/ 11:15am MST Well, we made it back from the 2019 CWS. The Vandy boys pulled it off (again). It was a fun run. Here’s our video of the Wilson shop called the Baseball Experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPmUQtMapv0 Update …

Here’s what you need to know about the new NOSCAE Catcher’s Gear requirement for high school and college ball. For 2020 high school baseball requires a NOCSAE certified chest protector. The NCAA pushed their requirement out to 2021. The rules are NOT in place for youth (non-high school). Most chest …

By Jon Zayle and Brian Duryea What are BESR Bats? BESR was the baseball bat certification requirement for NCAA and high school baseball play between 1998 and 2011. Short History – BESR was implemented in 1998 to address non-wood bat performance. Through the early 2000’s under the BESR standard, bat …

Baseball is back. It seems like a year ago that the 33” 2020 Meta was banned, causing players and parents all over the U.S. to lose their minds. I mean, if a kid doesn’t have a bat that has been on the market for all of 5 seconds, how will they possibly survive? As soon as the NCAA and NFHS ban took …

If you know that the total weight of a bat means virtually nothing when considering the usefulness of it at the plate, then you will want to know what the swing weight is. We show you how to get the swing weight of your calculator. Calculate your bat’s swing weight with this Spreadsheet: Complete th …

After measuring every barrel in the 2018 lineup of baseball bats, and categorizing them by type and length, we have found the Easton Ghost X as the bat with the largest barrel in more categories than any other. Of the 21 categories we detail below, the Easton Ghost X is the largest barrel in 10 of t …

Exit speed testing and results have some SERIOUS issues and we ask you to consider them before running off to assume that exit speeds and the “best bat” are one and the same. Our biggest fear is we misrepresent what we are measuring—as exit speeds, on the surface, seem like a great litmus test for …

We have long argued that bat companies could put to bed much of the argument in the industry around their bat’s exit velocity by simply releasing the data they get during BBCOR certification testing. BBCOR testing, performed at an independent bat lab at Washington State University, is a safety test …

As we measured the barrel sizes of baseball bats, we also measure the size of fastpitch barrels too. We found DeMarini’s CF Zen in the drop 11 (as well as the CF-XD) to have the longest barrels.  The smallest of the bunch was Louisville Slugger’s PXT but not by much. Amazon price check the CF Zen Dr …

Let us guess, you were watching a game on TV and you noticed an MLB batter’s thumb ring. Wait, you asked, is there such a thing as a baseball thumb guard? Yes. Specifically, its a Pro Hitter’s Baseball Thumb Guard used for baseball batters. It’s purpose is to fill the gap between the oval shape of a …

Running a baseball and softball bat site brings with it a few perks, not the least of which is speaking with ancillary baseball products. Chinook Seedery is one of our more recent finds. They make, as you can guess, large sunflower seeds in a handful of unique flavors. They hooked us up with a few b …

JustBats started a bat knob contest that could land you $200 and some notoriety. We thought it cool enough to share here. The 3 Steps to Enter 1. Create a custom bat knob here. 2. Post it to FaceBook with the tag #MyDesignMyBat. (You can also email it to JustBats). 3. Then, if JustBats decides its i …

The backspin tee is a hitting device that hangs a baseball over the plate to reveal the part of the baseball that should be hit. The pro model also puts the ball at an angle like it would if it were being pitched. These are advantages over traditional tees which hold the ball over the plate and, at …

Easton’s Jaw Guard was made popular during the LLWS due to its visibility. And, turns out, it likely saved a kids teeth from very serious injury. We recorded that video, which went viral, and put it on our facebook page. The Easton Jaw Guard was new for the series and will be available in September …

We used the Garmin Impact Bat Sensor for several weeks among several different hitters on several different bats. In short, we like it and believe it our favorite bat sensor on the market. Others might have a more robust system for tracking players and team management. But, in terms of a seamless pl …

The Pocket Radar Ball Coach has been on our holiday gift guide for 2 years running. It might be run off the list this year. Not because we stopped liking it (we use it all the time), but because Pocket Radar released a Smart Coach version. This new version has a number of functions that are made pos …

We put VukGripz on a bat and hit with it among several different hitters to write this review. In short, the VukGripz feel is different than any grip on the market. Small microfibers pointing outwards on the grip give your hands a floating feel. That loose grip encourages quicker hands and a faster …

Varo baseball released a new bat grip and it is something we’ve never seen before. It’s like a combination between a Lizard Skin or Vulcan and old fashioned bat tape. It’s made of silicone and therefore stretchy and water resistant. Most unique, the wrap is not sticky. As you wrap it around your bat …

Out of pure delight, we got access to two real and professionally made college baseball spray charts. Think you know baseball strategy? Here is your chance. Would you shift for the first, second, both or neither? (Leave a comment below). #1 #2 The answer, by the way, isn’t the same for everyone or e …

Batting helmet’s were not used consistently until the 1940’s and were not mandatory until 1983. It would be ridiculous, today, for someone to get in the box without a batting helmet on. How long until some type of pitching helmet is required, too? We hope soon. Such a requirement would force major v …

There are a ton of hitting aid options on the market to help your player become a better hitter, so much so it’s a little overwhelming.  We are going to highlight some of the more popular options for you and break them down by price point and offer our feedback on these hitting aids. Baseball & …

If you have seen any MLB games this season you’ve seen a new piece of face guard protection for players. Guys like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper have a new thing on their helmet.  It seems like at least half of all hitters are wearing a baseball helmet face guard. Price check the C Flap on Amazon Ther …

The Blast Vision App is software that uses your phone’s camera to plot the distance, speed and launch angles of your baseball and softball tee hits. Aggregating this data at your finger tips for immediate feedback sufficiency justifies the nominal price. We found the data to estimate ball exit speed …

Repetition, pinpoint accuracy, total control of speed, mastery of pitch type… these are areas that coaches typically struggle with when throwing batting practice. Players take their time in the cage serious, so why only allow 75-80% of the pitches thrown at them to be hittable? Baseball players ge …

So your kid is going to darn the ‘tools of ignorance’?  While this idea can be both exciting and nerve wracking for parents it also comes with a whole new set of logistical issues to take care of.  The least of which is not purchasing catcher’s gear for your young Yadier Molina or Buster Posey.  We …

By Jason Wilson One of the most precious things in a parent’s life is their child.  When a child plays any sport, there is a strain put on their growing body.  With baseball, one of the greatest strains that occur is with the arm and shoulder.  Too many times, youth arms are overused which lead to p …

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, there are three traits shared by all successful hitters: 1. Good mechanics 2. Solid mental/aggressive approach 3. Good timing Without even one of these a hitter is going to struggle. Although this article is about the ATEC T3 Batting Tee I use with my hitters, …

We took a spin with plate crate, the subscription based monthly box of baseball goodies. You pay just under $30 a month and get over $30 of value shipped to your front door. It includes some knick knacks and useball baseball tools you likely didn’t know existed but are probably happy to have. Each m …

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We spend several hours each week behind the Hitting Vault’s paywall, and over the course of that time, have watched nearly every one of their videos. Two of our sons are in the process of their SwingBuild program as we write this. As well, we’ve spent a considerable amount of time speaking to folks …

We have spent over 15 hours with the Rapsodo Hitting Monitor. In that time, we have recorded at least 1,000 hits within indoor and outdoor cages, as well as on outdoor fields. Those hits ranged from low end players to high bat speed players and occurred from tee, soft toss, pitching machine and live …

By Blake Muir If you’ve ever seen a kid behind the plate with sweet customized catcher’s gear, you may have wondered where to find it and whether it is worth investing the extra cost into the gear. I have had the pleasure of putting many catchers into middle and high school programs. In the process, …

We have now spent time with the Diamond Kinetics Sensor, Zepp Labs Swing Analytics and the Blast Motion sensor. (We cover the general overview in our Baseball Swing analyzer summary.) Our most recent experience with the Diamond Kinetics sensor also included some conversations with DK’s home office, …

Here we overview our experience, as well as many bat buyers’ experience, with Justbats.com, the site. This page will serve as our Justbats.com review. We also gather some insight from their take on the performance bat market. [ezcol_1half] [su_heading]Clearing up our Justbats.com Confusions[/su_head …

Our VARO Baseball bat weight (Amazon Price Check) review comes after 10 hours of use with the specialized bat weight compared to other donuts on the market. The VARO is a high end bat weight that comes in two versions. One version focuses on creating a balanced swing with a focus more toward the mid …

Let’s put this simply. Since buying baseball and softball gadgetry during the last 10 years NOTHING has been more useful, fun and worth it than our Pocket Radar Ball Radar. There, we said it. And after 2 years of use… The Pocket Radar Ball Coach on our hip and the Stalker Sports 2 gun has filled n …

If you are serious about your catcher’s gear then it is likely, indeed recommended, you put Marucci’s catcher gear equipment set on your short list. We spent a few hours behind the plate using the gear, side by side with a number of other sets, and are confident anyone in the space would be perfectl …

If you’ve ever met someone who has a Boombah bat bag then you know these bags are LOVED. And I mean absolutely loved. We took three different versions for a spin recently, got some player feedback and we really have a hard time seeing anything Boombah did wrong. These bags are recommendable far and …

DeMarini makes a fantastic high end bag for travel players. It has everything you could ever want in a roller bag that converts into a bag pack and individual sleeves for up to 4 bats. [wp_ad_camp_1] Here are some other features. Enough storage space to bring along the contents of a Manhattan apartm …