How to Select a Baseball Bat

By Mark Alter
Only a baseball player knows the value of his bat. There are stories of players who love their bats so much that they even sleep with them. They spend lots of time to keep their bats in ready-to-fight condition. It is important, therefore, to be very careful while selecting a proper bat.

Aluminum vs. wood bats

Baseball bats are made of two materials-wood and aluminum or aluminum alloy. It needs hardly to be mentioned that a wooden bat is heavier than an aluminum bat even if the aluminum is of cheaper quality. It is not easy to give a hard and effective swing or generate speed with a wooden bat. Wooden bats cannot wield the kind of power that the aluminum bats do.

Length, weight and drop

A good maple baseball bat is one whose length, weight and drop allow you to swing it comfortably. If you feel inconvenient handling it after a few swings, don't go for it. The lighter the bat, the more speed you can generate with it. A difference of mere one or two ounces in weight can make a huge difference in the swing.

A thumb rule to select a proper bat is to hold it by its handle and extend your arm so that you form an L with your body. Count 10 while you hold the bat at your shoulder level. If you feel tired, this bat is not for you.

Another important factor is the 'feel' of the bat, which is a matter of individual choice. There are people who rip off the leather on the handle and replace it with a thin plastic tape. The idea is to make the handle as thin as possible. There are others who do exactly the opposite and make the handle much thicker than the original. They feel comfortable with the thicker handle.

If you are looking for custom baseball bats, you can visit http://www.xbats.com The XBATs baseball bats are the finest bats chosen by the most discriminating Major Leaguer to the serious youth and amateur players.

Mark Alter, the author of this article, writes about the advantages of selecting a proper baseball bat. Want to know more about wooden bats and baseball bat? Still lots of things remain to explore.

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Aluminum vs Wood Baseball Bats... Evidence?

It's been the top debate in youth baseball for a few years now. Some towns and states have even changed their league rules based on the debate. Are aluminum baseball bats as safe as wooden bats (or visa versa). I have an opinion on this which I will not offer in this article. The purpose of this post is to present various pieces of evidence. This will give readers a better understanding on the issue.

Let's start with an independent, somewhat scientific test comparing metal and wood bats. This is in video form... please watch:

Interesting aye? This test found virtually no difference between the two bats. They did point out however that there is a difference sweet spot.

Next.. another video of a test done under the supervision of a professor. They are measuring energy transfer hitting frozen baseballs. Please watch...

The result was the metal bat drove the ball further. OK, how much further? Did they take a large sampling from each hitter. Not enough info in that video to make a determination.

Now here's an article by Mike Celizic of MSNBC.com. He points out that baseball is a dangerous sport (3 deaths on average per year). He maintains that banning metal baseball bats isn't the solution... Please read:

http://openmike.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/05/19/1040531.aspx

Here's a post in an LA Time's Blog by Shari Roan. This is an interesting read.. particularly the comments by readers.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/05/should-kids-swi.html

As I indicated at the top of this post. I'm not going to offer an opinion on the matter. I felt I should do a little research and help readers get all angles of this one. If you want more info.. Google "aluminum vs wood bats".

I will leave you with this...

Read through the proposed law to ban metal and composite bats in New Jersey. Does it really reference scientific fact? It does point out the tragedy (in detail) that happened to that young boy (whom I have all the sympathy in the world for). But again, it's a dangerous sport. Is the document written to convince law makers that a vote against banning metal bats is a vote against decency?

How about this? Should junior golf be banned because a stray drive with a metal driver might cause a similar tragedy? You decide.

Coach Bob

http://youthbaseballblog.blogspot.com/