At What Age Do Bats Make a Discernable Difference?

DD ocasionially hit the fence on a roll at that age, she was not the only one either. Fences were about 280 I think.

250 she would have had a chance to put it over.

Again she was not alone, that 11' ball seemed to fly.

chevy706 said:

So I'm an analytic and an overthinker. My daughter is 9, turns 10 in January. She's played rec and all star tournament ball, and is now starting travel ball. Throughout the seasons, I have had her try different bats that teammates' parents spent a lot of money for and I haven't seen much if any difference in how far she hits with a $350 LS LXT (and other similarly priced bats) vs. the $120 DeMarini Bustos she wields now.

Am I blind? Or do the girls have to gain enough muscle mass through age before I see this difference?

Click to expand...

First of all, I apologize if the questions have already been asked and answered since I haven't read the entire thread. That said, the Bustos is a drop 13 and most LXT's are a drop 11 or a drop 10. Adding a 2 Oz. difference between the two in comparison is like comparing apples to mangoes...not oranges. The flex in the handle of the Bustos makes it a great bat for smaller girls but the metal alloy barrel doesn't really help at all. However, at older ages and bigger girls, mass times acceleration will equal velocity which means distance. So to ask this question at younger ages, it is irrelevant unless your DD is very strong, has great swing mechanics and big for her age. Otherwise, a composite bat will be no use to her.


Now, if it's the opposite, a bigger heavier bat with good swing mechanics will definitely increase the distance she is hitting, The general rule of thumb is to move her to the biggest drop 10 bat ASAP as long as her swing mechanics can handle it. Remember though, an inch of length generally translates into an ounce of weight when it comes down to bat speed. So moving up an inch and an ounce, such as moving her up to a 30 drop 12 is a big step up from the 29 drop 13 (29/16) she may be swinging now for example. If she can handle it, over the winter season, when she can practice hitting with it, I would recommend moving her up 2 Ounces and keeping the same length unless she grows a ton between now and then. The following year I'd buy her a bat that moves up another 2 ounces and an inch. By then, she probably have grown to the point where she could handle a 3 ounce move as far as strength and swing mechanics go as long as you read and understand proper swing mechanics and are teaching your DD them. If you don't know what they should be, go to the hitting threads on here and start reading.

BTW, it's not necessarily muscle mass but proper swing mechanics taught. I have 85 pound girls at 12U dropping it at 180' or so thanks to what I learned on here.

quincy said:

DD ocasionially hit the fence on a roll at that age, she was not the only one either. Fences were about 280 I think.

250 she would have had a chance to put it over.

Again she was not alone, that 11' ball seemed to fly.

Click to expand...

A 10 YO hitting a 250' HR? 11" ball or not, I would like to see that....if somebody has a video or has found one of the internet please do share...How many of
Jocelyn Alo's 30+ HR this year went 250' you think? (OU's home field dimensions are 200LF,220CF,200RF....) You would be hard pressed to find many 10YO, boy or girl, that could
hit a baseball 250' nvm a softball..Now granted youth softball is better in other parts of the country, but here in OK in the last year I have only seen one 10U kid hit a ball over a 200' fence.

The comfort of hitting with a quality composite instead of an alloy is noticeable and worth just as much as any distance increase at that age. Hand sting in fall ball became a big problem with the light solid bats.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The biggest thing is the ball at the younger ages. My 10yo used a bustos and a CF8 -11 during the spring season on a RIF1 ball and there was no measurable difference. Now during All Stars, I broke out some Dream seam balls during practice, and it became dangerous for the in fielders while she hit with the CF8 -11.

quincy said:

DD ocasionially hit the fence on a roll at that age, she was not the only one either. Fences were about 280 I think.

250 she would have had a chance to put it over.

Again she was not alone, that 11' ball seemed to fly.

Click to expand...

While I'm not saying its not possible, let me point out that Rule 2.10 of the NCAA softball rules recommends that COLLEGE FIELDS not exceed 235 feet.

pattar said:

A 10 YO hitting a 250' HR? 11" ball or not.

Click to expand...

He said the ball was 11' - not 11"

-jeesh

GoGamecocks said:

While I'm not saying its not possible, let me point out that Rule 2.10 of the NCAA softball rules recommends that COLLEGE FIELDS not exceed 235 feet.

Click to expand...

To be fair they could have been playing on Men's slowpitch fields..when I workout with my DD that is the type of field we play on.

YOCOACH said:

If she can handle it, over the winter season, when she can practice hitting with it, I would recommend moving her up 2 Ounces and keeping the same length unless she grows a ton between now and then. The following year I'd buy her a bat that moves up another 2 ounces and an inch. By then, she probably have grown to the point where she could handle a 3 ounce move as far as strength and swing mechanics go as long as you read and understand proper swing mechanics and are teaching your DD them.

Click to expand...

This is interesting, DD has clearly outgrown her 30/20 LXT, and we've been tinkering with different bat sizes. She seems to have a bit more trouble with the increased weight rather than the length. Her hitting coach advised to try and stick with a -10, so she went with a 32/22 Ghost. I think she's having trouble adjusting her timing to the end-loaded bat. We took advantage of the LS sale yesterday and ordered the more balanced 32/22 Xeno. We'll see how that goes.

In regards to the OP, DD made the move to composite in first-year 10U when she kept denting bats. She had two of them disallowed at tournaments when the umpire pulled out the little card with the 2 1/4" hole and it wouldn't slide down the barrel. Composites don't dent.

I am a BIG fan of reaching out to parents who's DD are older than your own and asking about a hand-me-down bat program. At that age players are outgrowing bats every 9-12 months, so finding a gently used bat for @ $100-150 should not be that difficult. Ebay is another great resource for used bats.