need help on buying new bat!!!

[christine]

my son is starting on a 11u travel ball team. we are looking at buying a new bat. please let me know some of the best bats out there. he is a very good hitter but used a 2 1/4 bat in little league last year and now he can use a 2 3/4 or a 2 5/8. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Speedy42]

Your son has entered Senior League territory. These bats are in the 2 5/8 to 2 3/4 range and are somewhere between a -10 to about a -5 drop. Check out a bat size chart (guide) your son's height, weight and strength will determine what size bat to get. Have him try some bats at a store to see what he likes then go online to purchase a high-end bat. The reason for this is most stores don't carry bats such as the Demarini CF3, ComBat Virus, and the Anderson Techzilla, and Louisville Catalyst in the Senior League size. At least, I'm having trouble finding them in stores. The bats I've mentioned are tops hands down and can be found at Justbats.com.;)

[christine]

thanks for your help! we have narrowed it down to the prodogy, catalyst, or virus. just need someone to help with more info about either of these bats. thanks :D

[Speedy42]

I have read other posts in different forums about the Catalyst. Seems like it cracks too easily. The Virus and Techzilla have the same pop, but dent easily and I heard the Techzilla's end cap pops off after a while. I haven't heard anything bad about the CF3 yet. Well the only problem I heard was that the paint smears. To me that seems to happen to all bats anyways. I've got aluminum bats from Easton with the paint smears. Go check out the review forum for Demarini's website. You'll see some great reviews on the CF3, and that's coming from the players that use them.:D

[christine]

Thanks for the help! We are still trying to decide. We know he will need a 30" bat. I am not sure about the CF3. We really dont want to go with something that flexes. We are looking at a Catalyst or Virus. He really likes his 2 1/4 barrell Prodogy but not sure if that is a good big barrell bat. Any more help would be appreciated. Thanks again!! :)

[Speedy42]

Since your son is 11 I think he should be using a Senior League bat 2 5/8 would be good since that's the size barrell used in H.S. Virus has a -8 and a -10 drop bat in 2 5/8. Or you could possibly go with the Techzilla, which has a -9 drop but a 2 1/4 barrell. Those are great bats to choose from. From what I can tell the top bats pretty much perform at the same level. It's just a matter of preference and personal experience. Some people had problems with Catalyst and Techzilla and others haven't. Just go with your gut and live and learn.;)
One last thing: Never use a composite bat in cold weather and during batting practice. It should only be used for game time. However it must be broken in. To break it in use the Tuff Sleeve ( brand name) it fits right over the barrell and helps protect the bat. I think it retails for like $12 tops. Just Google search and you should find it.:D

[christine]

So you would recommend we buy the Virus over the Catalyst? Going to get it this weekend so really need some help. $300 is alot to invest in a bat that isnt any good. Look forward to hearing back. :D

[CoachVL]

ok, i'll try to help if i can, my son is 10 and has played travel ball for the last 3 years, and we have done alot of research on bats over that time. The best thing for any young baseball player is proper hitting form and mechanics, they will help him more than any bat out there. That being said, im a firm believer in getting the best equipment i can. Now that your son can use big barrelled bats, i would advise getting a 2 3/4 barrell for games, and a cheap 2 5/8 barrel that is the same length and weight as his game bat for batting practice. you have alot of options out there for bats, you must get him something that he can swing properly, not too heavy, if you really want an all composite bat, from the ones you listed i would go with the virus, but there are some differences in the -8 and -10 virus, the 30in 22oz virus has a barrell length of 8.75 inches and the -10 has a barrell lenght of 6.75 inches (bigger barrell length = more good hitting area) you say he needs a 30 inch bat, if he can swing a 22oz bat i would get the -8. i would advise against the catalyst ive read about and seen too many broken ones to consider that bat. it is a good bat if it doesnt break. but you have many more options out there. in my opinion, the best all composite big barrell bats out are the 2008 Demarini cf3 and the 2008 Easton Stealth, both had some early release problems but as of 11/01/07 they seem to have been corrected. the Virus could be as good as those bats but there are not many reviews about them out there and i havent seen one in use or used one, so i cant say its good or bad. there are also many options out there for you in aluminum bats, the louisville exo grid is an excellent bat but it is a 2 5/8 barrell. another cost saving aluminum bat would be the easton sc900 stealths, the key with the sealths is that in the last 3 years the only thing that has changed is the paint. and you can get an older model for much less. the 2006 sc900 stealth (black) can be had for around 115.00 to 125.00 the 2007 can be had for 125.00 to 145.00 and the 2008 for about 229.00, there is really no difference between any of those models just price and paint. My son has had 2 stealths(black) over the last 2 years both bats have had almost the entire team use them and they are both still in great shape with lots of pop left. these bats both have over 1000 hits off them from games and live batting practice. in my opinion the best bats out there are,.. the2008 Stealth comp the2008 Demarini cf3 the 2007 0r 2008 Louisville exogrid and the sc900 Stealths again i dont know how good the virus is, it could be great i dont have enough information about them to form an opinion they seem to be a good bat company.
also like the other tips youve gotten never never use your bat in cold weather, balls get harder and can damage the bat, and never use your good game bat in batting cages. i hope i helped some, again these are just my opinions from using these bats and researching the info i could find out there

[hardhitter]

Nice post,

My son has both the 2008 stealth -11 comp(dark blue and red) and the 2007 catalyst 2 3/4(blue), he has since cracked 2 of the stealth and the 3rd is showing signs again ( last replacement under warranty, received 11/15/07). The catalyst is going on about 8months of cage/games, my guess would be 1500 hits.

Few things I've noticed - the stealths are very end loaded compared to the Catalyst, the stealths also have more zip of the bat (POP, I hate that word) the reason is endloaded and the walls of the stealths are thinner then TPX bats and that's my theory as to why the crack easier.

Catalyst are very balanced, good grips. Combats out perform handsdown!

The combats are great bats, as are just about every high dollar bat on the market today, it all in the person holding the bat.

AND yes lessons will get more results. Better bats just help boost ego (which all kids need sometimes)