2019 Actual bat performance talk

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May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
My experience says test and let your DD decide.

My oldest (freshman) needs to go up to a 33 to get better outside plate coverage. She had the drop 11,10,9 easton ghost and chose the drop 9 because it felt the most balanced to her. she used it mid-season of high school varsity and put one off the center field fence her first at bat. Third at bat she swung and missed at a pitch (her first swing and miss in over 12 games) bat went back in the bag and went back to her 32/22.

Unfortunately girls can be very fickle and change on a dime. I have learned you can try to convince them what is best for them but the experience is what makes their decisions.

Hopefully I can get her to pull back out the 33/24 and accept it and move forward with it but at this point I have to let her do it on her own.

When my DD transitioned from a 32 to a 33, she had some moments of struggle, and some periods where she used only the 32 in games. For some reason, the 32-33 transition was slower for her than any of the previous ones. It's been over a year now. I'm hoping she grows a bit more (currently 5'-6", 150 lbs), but we shall see. She might be using a 33 for the rest of her playing time.

A good friend of my DD (same age, same height, bigger, strong kid) is using a CF8 32/21. Every time I see her with it, it screams "too small" to me. She mashes HRs on a regular basis with that little thing. She doesn't want to give it up.
 
Mar 8, 2016
315
63
DD is 16 and 5'11". Over the winter she wanted to transition to a bigger bat than her puny 32/21 cf8. She worked with both a 33/23 ghost and 33/22 cf8. She started the high school season 2/10. She switched back to her old 32/21 and finished the hs season with a .549/1.092/1.956 slash line. She no longer complains about how her bat is too small and I fully expect she will continue to try and use it even after it breaks

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Mar 8, 2016
315
63
Core,

I agree. Bat speed doesn't change during front toss so you would think she would be better off with the bigger bat. I would love to see her swing a bigger bat. I was behind a lot of the effort to switch to a bigger bat over winter. She has tried to like the ghost but has demoed 2 and has not been convinced. She hits it in the cage and gets excited then goes to the field and her performance is the same with both bats. I have become a firm believer that what is between the ears is more important than what is in the hands. It is just a whole lot easier to change the bat than the mind of a teen age girl.
 
Apr 16, 2010
924
43
Alabama
My DD was back and forth as well. She swung her CF* Slapper 31/21 for two years and killed it. She had a 32 in her bag I had gotten a good deal on and as soon as she felt like she was ahead of the ball because the 31 was too light she swapped to the 32. After hitting decent but without the same bat speed I told her to try her 31 during the falls last showcase. First AB she hit her first HR. Fast forward to her HS season and first AB of the year she hit one out. About a week later she was back to the 32.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
If you took any distinguishing features off the same model bat I wonder how many kids could tell the difference between 1 inch/1 oz. I know Ted Williams knew when his bat weights were off by fractions of an ounce but a 13 year old
kid isn't Ted Williams..
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
If you took any distinguishing features off the same model bat I wonder how many kids could tell the difference between 1 inch/1 oz. I know Ted Williams knew when his bat weights were off by fractions of an ounce but a 13 year old
kid isn't Ted Williams..

I would bet a small amount of money that my kid could tell a 1"/1oz difference.
 

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