What bat to use ?

[jsoendker]

Greetings !
I am a father of a soon to be 10 yr old. He just got bumped from a "rec..." league, to competitive. We live in an area, that is very serious about its baseball, Owasso, Ok. The high school program, is ranked nationally year after year.

He's a good athlete, for his age, at 4'7 - 105lbs, and right handed. Right now he's swinging a 30/22, cheap "WORTH - Copperhead" bat. I am looking to upgrade him to something better, and more for the competitive pitching. He has good contact, but swings slow, as he hits allot to the right side. I know he needs to lighten the load. I am a believer that bat speed is everything, and "...the equipment doesnt make the player...".

In general . . .

1) Can you get too light and short of a bat ?
2) Any suggestions on a make and model.

I am leaning towards the '08 model Demarini CF3 - 29/18.

Thanks, and looking forward to may discussions on here...

[msarti]

Although i don't have first hand experience with Combat bats, everyone seems to love them. They are balanced and swing lighter than similat weighted bats and their performance is unmatched. The favorite seems to be either the B1 or a B2. Do a search on here for more info.

[tom2p]

LL (2 1/4) - or big barrel ?
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[Speedy42]

used the Red CF3 29" 18oz and loved it. At 4' 7" I would stick with a 29" bat. Since your son swings slow, I would either go with the CF3 -11 drop or a Combat B2 -12 drop.

[ncbaseball]

My son is moving up to 10U travel ball this Fall, he has tried a lot of different bats in both small barrel and big barrel. It always comes down to personal preference, but the best big barrel bats I have seen are the older TPX Catalyst (blue one), Demarini CF3 and the Worth Prodigy. My son tried the older model Combat Virus big barrel and could not stand it. He has not tried the new B1 or B2 big barrels.

However, for small barrel bats, Combat just can not be beat. My son has the B1, B2 and Virus. He has also used most of last year Stealth Models, TPX Exo, TPX Catalyst and Anderson Techzilla (which is a great bat, seems like the sweet spot is smaller). Most people love the B1 or B2 small barrel. I thought the B1 had great pop, the ball really comes off the bat hot and sounds great. The B2 (in my opinion) sounds like glass breaking when you hit it and it takes way to long to break in with good results eventually. Having said that, at this age, I have not seen any bat (big barrel or small barrel) that hits the ball any harder or farther than the small barrel Combat Virus once it's broken in. No one talks about the Virus at all, so not sure if it just matches my son's swing perfectly or what, but it is a great bat.

[tom2p]

If possible .....
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have kid hit off T and soft toss into a net with various size bats - 29" and 30" bats ..... the more the better ...... 29-17 to 29-19 and 30-18 to 30-20 .... this is one of the best ways to determine ideal bat size ..... (and type) .....
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30" bat was probably too big at 9 yr old and still may be at 10 .... ( but almost impossible to determine without actually observing kid ).
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Keep your eyes open for good used bats and closeouts on new bats.
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Good luck !

[jsoendker]

I appriciate the info. I think I am goin with the 2 1/4 barrel. The "big barrels", dont seem to have enough drop, and I think a 27" is a bit too small.

I agree about the VIRUS. I dont see many, and never heard of, till I got online. BUT yes, it does look like the bat to have.

I agree, at the end of the day, I would say its a personal feel for player, and I know for my son, feel is everything. Nothing worse, than a bat that rings like an old phone on contact.

[KevinOK]

JSO,

Check you PM. Let me know beforehand if your interested. What team btw?

[KevinOK]

The Virus is an excellent bat, we dusted ours off the other day and my son was hitting bombs with it. It went back into his bag. Originally it was a little heavy and we forgot about it for the last couple years.

[tom2p]

very little experience with big barrels until age 13 ...... but I prefer the kids to use the 2 1/4 bats until they are at least 11 .... and maybe 13 .....
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but this coming from someone from a National/Williamsport LL affiliated organization .....
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do wish the LL fields were bigger for the 11 and 12 yr old kids however ....
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note - there are -10 drop big barrel bats ..... 29/19 DeMarini Vexxum ... ( there was at least ) .....
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and speaking of a bat that 'rings' - few bats will sting the hands like the Vexxum 2 1/4 - -13.5 drop ..... 29-15.5 .... ouch !!! .............

[jsoendker]

I appreciate everyones input. I have purchased the 2008 Demarini CF3, 29/18.
There's allot of yrs left, and bats to buy, so I figured the Demarini was a good place to start. I hope its legal to use. I had a hard time finding info, on that specific years model, if it was BPF 1.15 compliant.

Playing softball, I remember, back in the early 90's the Demarini was the first to break out, with a high output bat, so we will see.

As mentioned so many times in the forums, and I agree, that at the end of the day, it comes down to the feel of the player using it. LOL, remember, these bats are used by kids, that think new shinny shoes make em run faster.:D

This website, does seem to heavily favor the Combats, not to dismiss them in anyway.

This weekend, we are going to the field, and doin some soft tosses, and work on his mechanics.

[glgto]

this is sometimes caused by being top hand strong. a good drill is to set a tee up about 6 inches higher than his navel stand beside him and drop balls in front of him. he will have to pull through and be quick to hit the falling ball before being blocked by the tee.

[tom2p]

not too familiar with the CF3 - but I do recall a number of kids that did well with them ...
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however, if the CF3 is anything like the F2 and F3, it may swing a bit 'heavier' than a typical 18 oz bat ....
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not a problem ..... may need to spend some more time with the bat in practice ..... T ... soft toss ...... cage .... whatever ......
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