Should Pitchers Fear The Easton Ghost? Exit Speed Radar Results.

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May 23, 2015
999
63
Discuss Fastpitch is getting my numbers first. No bucket sitters were harmed during the testing process

Year ago I played for an Easton sponsored baseball team and I've stayed in touch with several employees. I received a Ghost several weeks ago so I could test it out and give opinion. I only accepted it under the full disclosure that I would post the results here without prejudice. Surprisingly they showed a ton of confidence and they accepted. I DID NOT pay for the bat and I'm not a shill. Just the facts! My Facts!

My daughter has been swinging a 2016 Xeno for a while. She hits very hard (probably not hard enough for the "hitting experts " in chatrooms) and has a good eye . We started with front toss and 50ish MPH machine pitching. The first thing she noticed was quite a bit more vibration in comparison the the Xeno. She said it was a "significant" difference. We then we to the tee. Overall she hit about 300 +- balls. She liked the bat, but wasn't a huge fan of the thin grip. That's easily fixed of course.

The next day we headed to the cage for tee work. She loosened up a bit and we alternated 5 balls with each bat. She said the Xeno felt a little faster. That means nothing . After 30 balls i grabbed the Stalker Sport 2 and headed behind the L screen for some numbers. We were also hitting in a cage that was equipped with HitTrax (5' in front of tee) to verify. Not surprised the numbers were almost identical.

We recorded a total of 60 balls off of each bat. I dropped 3 of the fastest numbers (no speed lost) and the three slowest (missed hits). We were hitting only Pro Nine .47 375 balls. They were used but still hard.

12 YO
Xeno average speed 54.7 MPH
Ghost average speed 54.1 MPH

10 YO (Warm Up and Off The Tee). She swings a 32 Xeno, but she swung the 33 for the test. for kicks.
Xeno average speed 48.8
Ghost average speed 46.2

Next Up 47yo Dad! No warm up just a dozen or so swings to loosen up. 6 hits. I would've hit more, but the composite bats felt like they we're going to explode and had a ton of flex.

Xeno average speed 92.4
Ghost average speed 93.5
Old Hickory Pro Maple 34" 88.6

My conclusion is the same as I suspected when I received the bat. There's no way legally to get around the approval process form various organizations and manufactures are shaking about the liability of funny business if someone gets hurt. If you're swinging any other Easton model prior to the Ghost you will be blown away. Zero doubts. If you're use to swinging a Xeno it will be an expensive sideways move especially considering it's not approved across the board. Swing away if you get it for free :). My daughter played in a tourney last Saturday and I asked her if she wanted to unleash the Ghost and she said no thanks dad. I'm ok

Caveats:
IF the Ghost opens up a little more it might make a slight difference. I suspect manufacturers consider this prior due to liabilities. If the bat starts failing compression tests at tournaments I would bet they would be deemed illegal association wide. I don't think that it will above the 300-400 hits, but who knows. The double wall design MUST be spanked to take advantage of the boost. Notice the numbers. The harder you hit the more significant the speed difference. In my worthless opinion opening up wont yield monumental results based on my previous experiences.

Pros:
It's a great bat! "out of the wrapper" pop
Thin grip for small hands

Cons:
Much more vibration than the Louisville offerings
Not fully approved across the board. That's a big consideration
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
DD avoids some hitters a little bit, swing what you want.

Time was called immediately last game, I thought DD killed the P with her sucky old bat. She was fine but was a scary few seconds.
 

JAD

Feb 20, 2012
8,231
38
Georgia
Thanks for the info. How does the perceived size of the sweet spots compare? DD loves a Xeno, but I made her switch to a Demarini since that is what she will swing in college. DD says the Xeno is more forgiving, but the Demarini has more pop in its smaller sweet spot.
 
Jun 19, 2016
858
63
If it had more vibration she might have slowed down her swing some. My DD is an LXT girl for this reason. She hates vibration.
 

ez_softball

Life at the diamond...
Apr 14, 2017
158
28
...
My conclusion is the same as I suspected when I received the bat. There's no way legally to get around the approval process form various organizations and manufactures are shaking about the liability of funny business if someone gets hurt. If you're swinging any other Easton model prior to the Ghost you will be blown away. Zero doubts. If you're use to swinging a Xeno it will be an expensive sideways move...

First off, thanks for posting your findings. I haven't put my hands on the Ghost so, I can't say anything conclusively about it specifically. I will say that when I have tested and compared the "older Easton models prior to the Ghost" (aka as the 2015/2016 Mako/Torq) they perform VERY similarly to the LS offerings (aka 2016/2017 Xeno and LXT models.) I know that isn't a popular opinion around these parts but I've actually measured exit speeds and the data I've collected says that the difference is minuscule at best.
 
May 23, 2015
999
63
Thanks for the info. How does the perceived size of the sweet spots compare? DD loves a Xeno, but I made her switch to a Demarini since that is what she will swing in college. DD says the Xeno is more forgiving, but the Demarini has more pop in its smaller sweet spot.

I fully agree about the Xeno. It's an incredibly forgiving bat. Miss hit balls don't offer any negative feedback in the slightest. The DeMarinis have a slight amount. The ghost is definitely significant when you don't Barrel up. Doing some slight front toss and purposely pool cueing I could really feel it. I could also feel it holding the Barrel in my hand and tapping the knob on the heel of my other hand. It transmits a lot.

Perception is tough. I would have no way other than anecdotal to say whether or not a sweet spot was larger. I would think that would take some pretty scientific equipment and probably high speed video to figure that out. I do know that my daughter liked the bat just not enough for her to change or enough for her to swap bats playing USSSA.

Easton definitely has a winner if you are brand loyal and willing to overlook not being stamped by other associations. If they're able to get certified without changing current specs this will also hold true. I have a very funny feeling that name a day hot ASA bat because it's less stringent, gained Market Buzz, and will put out a lesser performing U trip model. I hope I'm wrong. Easton is a great company and one of the few competitors in the market. I hope they do it right
 
Jan 28, 2017
1,661
83
Bought my 11 year old DD a new bat this week. We were planning on buying the new Demarini but after hitting with a few she liked the 2018 LXT best. She uses a 31 inch -10 and they only had a 32 inch -10 Ghost and they asked her to test it out. She crushed the ball with the LXT and Ghost. Bought he LXT because of length. Topped every ball with he Demarini for some reason.
 
Oct 2, 2015
615
18
625ender, what size Easton Ghost were you using?

Our results were different, with the Ghost having more exit speed than the Xeno.

We were using the 34" Ghost.
 
May 12, 2014
833
28
Funny, because my daughter swung a Xeno for years and felt that the Xeno had a certain area of the bat that had to be hit to be effective. Hit it anywhere else it was a normal bat. She actually liked the CF8 better.

She's been swinging the Ghost for 3 weeks. My daughter is not shy to say that she doesn't like a bat. She said the Ghost has insane pop anywhere along the barrel. Girls on her team that have the new Xeno and PXT swung the Ghost and said it definitely has more punch.

625 you don't seem to be a fan of the Ghost. I think it's the best bat out
 
Last edited:
May 23, 2015
999
63
625 you don't seem to be a fan of the Ghost. I think it's the best bat out
Not sure where you got that from. I was just reporting what I saw. I'm 47 I don't have a dog in the hunt so I don't have to be a fan

625ender, what size Easton Ghost were you using?

Our results were different, with the Ghost having more exit speed than the Xeno.

We were using the 34" Ghost.

33/23
 

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