2018 Easton Ghost

[CoreSoftball20]

I believe this is a USSSA and NSA bat only. Fastpitch going the way of slow pitch. Glad DD doesn’t play USSSA or NSA. I’m curious if this model will sell as well as the USA/ASA Ghost. I’m also wondering if there is really any difference between the two.

Completely different...usssa doesn't allow the tech that the ASA Ghost has

 

[CoreSoftball20]

That could be a deal breaker to some. Especially when you can find bats that are just as hot that are approved across the board. Not a big fan of the grey and yellow graphics either, but that Is just nitpicking.

Again, this was said when the Ghost first came out...and the Ghost is the hottest selling bat on the market right now and only ASA approved because its not
just like any other bat.
You are going to have people that play usssa, buy the usssa Ghost because they had enough of Wilson as well.

Will you have people buy both...absolutely.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

And USSSA should be ashamed of themselves for starting all this baloney. .

Bingo...thank you for not blaming the bat manufacturers.

 

[DRDRODD]

I know the topic has shifted some but I want to provide so data on the ghost compared to DD CF9..... The facility DD hits at just installed a hittrax. While using the hittrax the CF9 highest EV was 4 mph higher than her highest with the Ghost.... The Ghost was 3 mph higher on her average EV compared to the CF9...... The Ghost did better than the CF9 on the miss hits..... The CF9 seemed to outperformed the Ghost on squared balls. Each bat was used on a 100 ball session on different days..... My DD prefers the feel of the CF9 better than the ghost.... She says the ghost swings a little heavier...... I can definitely see how the Ghost could be a deadly weapon in the hands of the right hitters with it being so forgiving and performed better than I intentionally thought without seeing the hittrax data. Just wanted to share with everyone.


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[CoreSoftball20]

And that's ok...if the bat felt heavier, then she obviously wasn't going to get better performance than the bat she is comfortable with.

Not every bat will give every hitter better results

 

[YOCOACH]

And USSSA should be ashamed of themselves for starting all this baloney. If the manufacturers start this two stamp stuff they are going to price even more players out of softball. The cost is ridiculous. And it started costing us money for real a couple of summers ago.

They are doing what they do “for the safety of the kids” I’m sure.

Play ASA/USA and PGF people. USSSA’s really slick website isn’t worth it.

And that's the very issue. Both sanctions are forcing teams to choose which they'd rather play because of this development. I can't foresee anything out of this "bat war" coming out good for USSSA. USA/ASA has the "big stick," i.e. the Olympic team tryouts. Yes, the USSSA is trying to rebuild their brand name under the guise of the "USSSA Elite" and from the ground up with rec leagues, but really, what do they have for the carrot? All they have right now is the, "stick," which is forcing more people to buy more $350 bats in order to comply with their sanction which many of us will fail to do. Not only that, but in many parts of the country such as mine, USSSA is a joke. It's mostly All-Star rec teams competing thinking that they're true A/B TB teams.

The other problem they'll have is exactly what is starting to happen here. After the state PGF director has screwed up so bad that many teams have foregone PGF play, he somehow finagled his DD into the State directorship of USSSA. In order to consolidate her," power structure," she has dismissed many of the regional directors. These Regional Directors had great vision to rebuild the USSSA brand in my state. That's one of the major reasons we played the sanction last year. Now, the teams that have since refused to play the PGF sanction have moved to USSSA since PGF has turned out to suck so bad around here. With his DD running it, how long do you think USSSA will last since she's doing the exact same things he did? Not only that, But many of the Regional Directors she dismissed are also college coaches; albeit from small colleges. But how long do you think it will take for the word to spread to boycott any and all of the college USSSA showcases in my state? Remember, for the most part, college coaches are a pretty tight knit community as is SB in general. Every single one of those (dismissed RD) coaches are now playing USA/ASA tourneys and scouting them exclusively; at least in my state.

Yeah, IMO USSSA has shot themselves in the foot with this one if bat manufacturers follow suit with Easton which I believe they'll do.

ETA: Anyone want to start a pool for how long it'll take to for the USSSA to bow to USA/ASA bat standards?

 

[Westwind]

I know the topic has shifted some but I want to provide so data on the ghost compared to DD CF9..... The facility DD hits at just installed a hittrax. While using the hittrax the CF9 highest EV was 4 mph higher than her highest with the Ghost.... The Ghost was 3 mph higher on her average EV compared to the CF9...... The Ghost did better than the CF9 on the miss hits..... The CF9 seemed to outperformed the Ghost on squared balls. Each bat was used on a 100 ball session on different days..... My DD prefers the feel of the CF9 better than the ghost.... She says the ghost swings a little heavier...... I can definitely see how the Ghost could be a deadly weapon in the hands of the right hitters with it being so forgiving and performed better than I intentionally thought without seeing the hittrax data. Just wanted to share with everyone.


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That’s really interesting- I know the “forgivingness” of a bat isn’t often discussed but I was wondering about it while watching games last weekend.

So... another thing I was thinking about was how different areas approach hitting differently. My semi-rural area leans toward low drop bats an inch longer than you would expect. In an urban area near me, I see a lot of elite players from that area seem to embrace Demarini bats, seemingly a size or two smaller than normal but they hit well with them. Maybe it’s what you said, by using a smaller bat they square balls better with a handsy looking swing and therefore get the best that bat has to offer: great performance on perfectly squared balls.

 

[Jdaddy]

I know the topic has shifted some but I want to provide so data on the ghost compared to DD CF9..... The facility DD hits at just installed a hittrax. While using the hittrax the CF9 highest EV was 4 mph higher than her highest with the Ghost.... The Ghost was 3 mph higher on her average EV compared to the CF9...... The Ghost did better than the CF9 on the miss hits..... The CF9 seemed to outperformed the Ghost on squared balls. Each bat was used on a 100 ball session on different days..... My DD prefers the feel of the CF9 better than the ghost.... She says the ghost swings a little heavier...... I can definitely see how the Ghost could be a deadly weapon in the hands of the right hitters with it being so forgiving and performed better than I intentionally thought without seeing the hittrax data. Just wanted to share with everyone.

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What was the difference in bat speed between the two?

 

[DRDRODD]

What was the difference in bat speed between the two?

That I do not know.... she thinks she is quicker with the Demarini but have no proof of that.....


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[Jdaddy]

That I do not know.... she thinks she is quicker with the Demarini but have no proof of that.....


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DD was always quicker with Demarini. They swing really light, but she never took to the whip/flex of the handle. When the timing was perfect, the ball would really fly. She just likes the stiff handle of the Easton. I don’t think there are two fastpitch bats that feel more different.