Heavy bat vs. Light bat

[MichiDad]

Ok, guys, here's a question similar to the recent thread regarding using a heavy bat in practice. My DD is 12U, and uses a 17 oz Bustos semi composite bat. She's kind of struggling adjusting to the pitching, as this her first year in travel. I seem to remember reading on here that using such a light bat may ne counter-productive to getting decent hits vs. faster 12U pitching. We recently started using her 20 oz bat the we bought her last year, which never got used, to try to strengthen her muscles a bit so she can use a bigger bat, the 21oz CF4 team bat for instance. Is the line of reasoning appropriate, or is there a better way to go about it. She is 2 weeks away from being on 10U, based on her birthday, to give you an idea of potential size and strength. Not that she's a short girl, but not as strong as the girls that are in their later 12U eligibilty, like the girls that have the January 2nd birthday when the cutoff is January 1st for example. Sorry if this is a big ramble-fest. Thanks in advance.

Sent from my Inspire HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[pstein]

Using a heavier bat can be beneficial in that it recruits the whole body, as opposed to just the arms.

Tewks wrote a very good article on this.

 

[InsidePitch]

DD hit ultra lite -13 and went to end weighted -9 and hit line drive one hoppers to the fence. She uses a -10 balanced bat when she needs to be more precise (pitcher is throwing junk low and off the plate.) Fast and down the middle the heavy bat comes out.

 

[RichK]

In a game you need a bat that's "just right" -- for most girls that means a -10 balanced until they start maturing and/or lifting in high school when they can consider bulking up their bat too. Some prematurely big girls can swing heavier bats right away. I wouldn't use anything less than a -10 once they are solidly playing 10U travel ball or higher. -12 and -13 bats really don't work at that level, IMO

 

[SBFAMILY]

I have discussed this with Tewks and it was posted for boys. Some of you have taken it out of context and think the heavier the better.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Epstein has been talking about the issue created with ultra-light bats for well over a decade. It's a well known issue.

Had a another kid gravitate to a 28-oz barrel last weekend. It's not that big of a deal.

 

[pstein]

I have discussed this with Tewks and it was posted for boys. Some of you have taken it out of context and think the heavier the better.

Swing the heaviest bat that you can get around quickly, without over swinging or having to start early.

 

[CobraAssist]

I have a small take on this subject after this past weekend. DD is 49" tall and is between 95-100 lbs. She is swinging a 29"/18oz CF-5. She had a great weekend. We've been working on her letting the ball get a little deeper so she's not rolling over on everything. It finally clicked this weekend, and I've got some GREAT footage, but just haven't had a chance to put it on here yet. One thing I did notice, and I have noticed with some college girls, is the bat at impact sometimes glances downward on above center hits, and upward on below center hits. DD stroked one over the CF's head in her first AB, and at impact, the bat was shot down a little bit. It didn't keep her from finishing her swing, but I couldn't help but think that this had something to do with the mass of the bat. I'm a little hesitant going to a heavier bat though. Now that we've got her timing worked out, and she's really starting to hammer the ball....if it ain't broke don't fix it ya know??? Thoughts?

Josh

 

[GunnerShotgun]

My small 12u daughter swings a bat that is way to "big" for her 32/22 (she is very small, but very strong). I have read all of the articles and research done on bat weights and I realize that according to the research she should be swinging a much lighter bat. I have a degree in Maths, I love the physics behind it all.

Having said that she hits better with the larger bat. I have gotten her a lighter bat (31/18) and she doesn't hit it as solid. She has tried many different bats/sizes and we always end up with back at the heavier 32/22. You wouldn't believe how many buckets of balls we went through trying to find the right length/weight of bat.

She doesn't understand why I don't want her to use the heavy bat when she hits so well with it. So I let her hit it and put up with the comments from the other coaches and spectators (why is she swinging a tree trunk?).

I surmise there is a flaw in her swing and the heavy bat compensates for it.

 

[Wellphyt]

I have a small take on this subject after this past weekend. DD is 49" tall and is between 95-100 lbs. She is swinging a 29"/18oz CF-5. She had a great weekend. We've been working on her letting the ball get a little deeper so she's not rolling over on everything. It finally clicked this weekend, and I've got some GREAT footage, but just haven't had a chance to put it on here yet. One thing I did notice, and I have noticed with some college girls, is the bat at impact sometimes glances downward on above center hits, and upward on below center hits. DD stroked one over the CF's head in her first AB, and at impact, the bat was shot down a little bit. It didn't keep her from finishing her swing, but I couldn't help but think that this had something to do with the mass of the bat. I'm a little hesitant going to a heavier bat though. Now that we've got her timing worked out, and she's really starting to hammer the ball....if it ain't broke don't fix it ya know??? Thoughts?

Josh

I'm seeing the same thing with some hitters as you are. I've seen the bat actually recoil on impact against some of the really fast pitchers. I think some of it is due to bat weight, but I also believe that some it has to do with the grip. A lot of girls I see at tournaments don't grip the bat as well as they could. IMO a light weight bat and a poor grip is a really bad combination.

One way that I was able to open my DD's mind to swinging a heavier bat, is to let her take cage swings with an old 33/30 baseball bat. The first time she did this, she told me that it wasn't as hard to swing as she thought it would be. Now she's asking for a -9 33/24.

We are also incorporating more one arm swings using a "D-Bat", and she is suppose to be using her spring hand grips to strengthen her wrist and forearms. She also has a wrist roller forearm exerciser but she has to stand up to use it, so it's gathering dust. She prefers the hand grips because she can use them while laying on the couch or in bed at night