It’s tough to be a contact hitter. Growing up I was a contact hitter, and it was frustrating to constantly be in the shadow of the power hitters (and by “power hitter” I mean those kids who were capable of hitting the ball over the fence). I once went an entire season without a single strikeout and still was passed over in the all-star voting because my “HR” column contained a big fat goose-egg. What does this have to do with choosing a bat for a contact hitter? Read on to find out.
Baseball & Softball Bat “Group Think”
Have you ever seen a team and wondered why they’re using mostly the same bat?
This is more PSA than advice or analysis. I do not, in any way, mean to discredit the expertise of coaches and hitting instructors – when they advise you should listen. From observation and experience, however, some coaches or instructors tend to fall into grooves of recommendation, often recommending the same bat to many players that shouldn’t really be using the same style of bat.
Swing Weight
Last weekend, I went fastpitch bat hunting, and I brought my daughter’s 31-inch (-10) Techzilla bat with me for reference. This is the bat she used last season, but she felt she was ready to try a longer model. When I entered the baseball and softball shop, the first thing the store owner did was grab the Techzilla bat and weight it. Since the bat was listed as having a -10 drop, I assumed it would weigh 21-ounces. I was wrong.
Single-Wall vs. Double-Wall
So I’m looking at online posts this week about multi-walled bats, and I was stunned by the misinformation out there. I’m certainly no expert on the subject, but I think the issue of single-wall vs. double-walled bats can be summed up quickly.
End Loaded vs. Balanced Bats
Another major issue in bat selection is the weight distribution. This week I was at my daughter’s hitting practice, and two parents had just bought brand new fastpitch bats for their kids. I asked the girls if they liked their bats, and they sheepishly whispered, “Not really.” And I think I know why.
In the past few years 2-piece bats have become all the rage, with nearly every high-end bat manufacturer displaying a 2-piece bat as their showcase product. Perhaps there was significant discussion and debate as this transition was taking place, but newcomers to the high-end baseball and softball bat market are either scratching their heads in confusion or have simply bought into the 2-piece hysteria.
Aluminum vs. Composite Bats
Spending $400 on a bat is a lot of money, especially in a cluttered marketplace filled with exotic alloys and creative bat designs. There are several issues to consider before investing money (and time) into a new fastpitch bat. First what kind of hitter are you (or your child)? Are you a contact/line drive hitter, or are you more of a power hitter? Different bats work better for different types of players, and it is important to not just buy a bat that works for another teammate.
Tee Ball Coaching – What I’ve Learned
I recently had the pleasure of coaching my 4-year-old’s tee ball team. I’m not yet sure if the pleasure came more from the season being over with, or from the satisfaction of teaching a bunch of youngsters the basics of baseball. There were no tee ball leagues when I was a kid, so playing and coaching tee ball was new territory for me. If you’re considering coaching a team of 4 & 5-year-olds, you should read this article so you know what you’re getting into. read more…
A friend of mine recently recounted her story of trying to buy a bat as a Christmas present. Initially she was thinking of making a purchase in the $100 – $150 range (for a high school baseball player). Fortunately she came to me before she made any purchases and I convinced her that she was doing her son an injustice by buying him (a talented hitter) anything less than the best. There was some sticker shock when I revealed how much she should be spending, but with some convincing she agreed to abandon her search and start looking at the “good” bats.
The baseball swing is a pretty complex thing. The swing as a whole is a system made of many parts, each contributing to the ultimate goal of whipping the barrel of your bat through the pitched ball. The various movements of the legs, hips, shoulders, arms and wrists all stack on each other and add to the combined effect. At the foundation of this stack is hip rotation.
