Jan 15

Written by: host
1/15/2008 4:50 PM

Bat Selection Mania!

A common sense approach to selection…

By Coach Dalton Ruer

 

Looking to buy a new bat so that your daughter is the next great home run hitter …. Not sure where to start ….. Stop panicking, you aren’t alone and there is help available. This article is intended to help you be a little more informed as you begin your journey. I’ll start by giving you the bottom line so that if you are one of those who tend to get overwhelmed with more than a paragraph of information, you can stop reading when you’ve hit your wall so to speak. 80% of the game of softball is mental, in that if your daughter has confidence she’ll do better with a bat she loves, than she will with a great bat that she doesn’t love or trust. A $19 bat that she loves and hits with is worth ten times more than a new bat that costs $250 if she doesn’t want to use the best bat that money can buy. So the goal in the end is to build her confidence in whatever bat you end up choosing for her, or that her puppy dog eyes make your purchase. The advice in this article is for those that want to evaluate the options and get some feedback from experience in dealing with multiple girls with multiple bats.

 

So let’s begin:

1. Hitting is about speed and my primary advice is always to go with the lightest weight bat (that is the appropriate length). Bats are always rated in terms of the Length to Weight ratio. A -10 indicates that the bat is 10 ounces lighter than it is long. So if it is 32 inches long, it will weigh (32 – 10) or 22 ounces. You will notice that bats range from -8 to -13. The lighter the bat is the faster your daughter can swing it. Obviously each girl is different but in general I recommend a -10 or -11 bat for nearly every girl to use to face nearly every pitcher. I love the -12 or -13 bats for girls that are very slight in frame or haven’t played long because it gives them the best chance to react a little later than girls who’ve played longer or are stronger and still make contact.
   
   
2. However, the weight alone is no longer the only factor. Bat makers are starting to fudge their numbers a bit by changing the shape of the bat. Nobody would buy a -6 bat, so the manufacturer changes the shape of the bat and greatly reduces the barrel length, which reduces the sweet spot and produces a bat that looks just like a baseball bat instead. They label it -9 now, because that is the weight hoping that you’ll buy it because someone’s advice to you was “buy her a -9.” But the problem is your daughter now has ½ the surface area to hit with in order to get that -9 rating. Another factor is where the weight is in the bat. If the weight is distributed evenly the bat will swing very evenly and smoothly and feel like it weighs less than it does. If the weight is all at the end of the bat, it can supply more power if the ball is hit perfectly near the end, but unfortunately it swings like it weighs many ounces more than it actually does and very infrequently do girls actually take good swings with it because of the weight and the way it is distributed.
    
3. So how do you know exactly which weight is just right for your daughter? My primary rule of thumb is that they should be able to hold the bat out level with their arm extended, and maintain it for several seconds with no problem. If they hold up a bat to test, and it immediately lowers their arm, she isn’t going to do well with it. The second test would be whether she can hit the fastest pitch that would be coming at her, without having to start her swing early causing her to swing at balls. If she can’t get the bat around fast enough, she shouldn’t be using it. Lastly, if she can’t hit consistent line drives with the bat, she shouldn’t be using it. The heavier, and more end loaded a bat is, the more it controls her swing, instead of her swing controlling the bat. She wants to drive the ball up and out, but the bat weighs to much at the end and the head of the bat forces her to swing downward.
   
   
4. How about the right length? Now things get trickier because that depends on her height and the way she gets her height. For instance she could have long legs and not long arms, or perhaps have shorter legs but a very long torso and longer arms than normal. So there is no perfect formula. My simple rule for girls 10 and over is: If they are tall (over 5’ 3’’) they should use a 33” bat. If they are sort of average height for a girl their age say between 4’10’ and 5’3 then a 32” bat is probably going to work for them. If they are shorter than that then they probably need to use a 31” bat. If they are younger than 10, I have far less experience because the sizes range so much. If they stand erect with the bat beside them it shouldn’t go above their waist or it is to long for them. The main objective is to be able to control the end of the bat. Before buying one have her try 2-3 different sizes and see which one she controls when swinging at a ‘soft toss’ first.
   
   
5. The biggest mistake to avoid is buying a bat because it is a really good deal. A great deal on a bat from a teammate that isn’t the right length or weight isn’t a good deal for your daughter in the long run. The ‘ole “She’ll grow into this bat next year” isn’t really a good plan for now or then. She won’t do well this year, her confidence in batting will plummet and even when she grows she won’t trust the bat or herself at the plate. A better idea is to just allow her to borrow a teammates bat for now if she has one that is the correct length/weight that would allow her to do that.

 

While I can’t possibly offer a review of every bat on the market, I’ve tried to identify the major “players” in the game that seem to show up in bat racks all over town. I’ll preface this by saying that I don’t distribute bats and have no vested interest in what bat you purchase, other than wanting to provide her with the best weapon that will help her go into battle.

1. Rocket Tech – This is a great bat for about 5% of the girls that are playing the game. If your daughter is really strong and can hit consistent line drives with it, then it is a great bat for her to use. If she hits 1 line drive a mile, and hits 99 ground balls to the right side of the infield with it, then that is a horrendous investment. It feels like a brick in your hands, and for most girls swings like a brick and controls them, and doesn’t let them control it. It has probably the smallest sweet spot of any bat on the market. Another factor for this bat that applies to some and perhaps not others is that it can/should only be used above 60-65°. It is very prone to crack/split in any weather that is colder than that. Conversely, the hotter it is outside the farther more ‘pop’ that this bat seems to apply to the ball.
   
   
2. Synergy – Great bat for the average to above average softball player. It is well balanced and swings very smoothly. Just about any girl can get it around and hit line drives consistently with it. It won’t go as far as with a Rocket Tech, but 10 doubles beats 1 triple any day of the week (and twice on Sunday in the ‘ship.) It has a good barrel length and large sweet spot.
   
   
3. Catalyst – This bat comes in a couple sizes, styles and weights. This bat has a bit more of a sweet spot than a Rocket Tech, and swings much better than a Rocket Tech. A much larger percentage of girls can actually use this bat to hit with consistently, but the sweet spot is smaller than with a traditional longer barrel bat.
   
   
4. Stealth – This bat comes in a couple styles (weights) and has a great balance of power and speed. It is very much like the Synergy in that a lot of girls (fewer than the Synergy) seem to do well with it, but girls that are stronger and hit for power do particular well with this bat.
   
   
5. Prodigy – This comes in a -13 which is the lightest of any bat on the market. It has amazing pop to it that even the frailest of girls could use well, will handle amazingly well for bunting and slapping. This is a GREAT bat for girls that are very fast and will be bunting/slapping for base hits or for newer players or smaller built girls that need the ability to have that extra blink of an eye reaction time.
6. Demarini Medusa– Demarini has always been a big name in power slowpitch bats. They are finally starting to make some really good fast pitch bats, and this -12 version is probably the best they’ve produced to this point for fast pitch.
   
   
7. Elite Rip It (others like it) – There are always newer bats on the market like this one that seem to really provide a lot of pop and look great in the hands of the player that just ripped one against your daughters team. My usual philosophy is “how does the new bat meet all above criteria?” The newest bat, doesn’t mean that it is the “best’ bat, and even the “best” bat doesn’t mean it will be the best for your daughter. If her hand eye-coordination is less then excellent some of these smaller barrel bats are not going to be good for her to use because they provide such a small sweet spot compared to other bats. The real positive point to this “power” type bat is that it is the only bat on the market that I’m aware of that is warranted all the way down in the sub 40% degree range. It provides the “pop” of the Rocket Tech with more durability and allows it to be used in more games.

 

My recommendations, reviews and suggestions are just some things to think about and help you in your selection if you are going to be buying a new bat so that you don’t have to do the shopping completely blind if you feel overwhelmed with all of the choices. Do your shopping online if you can and check out multiple sources to get the best price and the correct bat. You can start your shopping at www.softball.com to find the make/model you and your daughter think is the best fit, and then do some comparison shopping using Google or something like that once you know the make/model. Don’t buy a 33” bat if she should use a 31”, or -8 bat because it was the last one on the shelves at Dick’s Sporting Goods or something like that.  An easy way to avoid the burden all together is just ask your daughter which bat she thinks is the prettiest, buy that one and then blame her if she doesn’t hit will. Just kidding. Better to go through the pain now, than for the rest of the season if you know what I mean.

 

See you at the field,

Dalton Ruer

 

Coach Dalton Ruer is the founder of a Cross Training which is a recreation ministry in Atlanta which specializes in batting instruction and encouragement for girls throughout the metro Atlanta area. If you are still overwhelmed by the choices on the market and are interested in more personalized advice for your specific situation feel free to contact Coach Dalton at info@hit4speed.org.

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