2020 Ghost Advanced

[erniekru]

The Miken ASA Freak Primo is awesome. Just plain awesome. The ghost is there as a backup and incase any coach gets a hair up his a** and notices/complains about a slowpitch bat and an ump doesn't know it's legal. After a lot of breaking in I'd say the Ghost is on par with the USSSA Freak, but it doesn't equal the ASA Freak. If your DD can swing a 34 -8, then the ASA Miken Freak Primo balanced is just plain freaking awesome! Better than any fastpitch bat.

A slowpitch bat is legal for ASA Fastpitch?

 

[Westwind]

Well, give Core a buzz. He was blowing out the USSSA Freak Primo balanced a few months back when I got one, because the -8 Ghost took forever to finally materialize. He may have super good prices on the ASA now as well. Spend a few weeks swinging it and she'll probably build that extra umph. When we first compared the Ghost out of the wrapper, on the field, to the ASA Freak, it was honestly night and day. Literally 30 feet more. I'd always heard the Ghost was hot out of the wrapper, but maybe that wasn't the case with the -8. More thickness maybe. She now uses it for BP and practice, but game time the ASA Freak is still her go to. We haven't had a good on field practice session yet where I can really compare them back to back now that the ghost is more broken in. Weather is now turning too cold.

Already did, lol!

 

[justanotherguy]

A slowpitch bat is legal for ASA Fastpitch?

100% Slowpitch bats are the same as fastpitch and have the exact same stamps. They just start at 34" -8 weights, so not a lot of girls care or know about them. The plus is that they're a good bit less expensive, but they're just like the old Ghost, the best are ASA or USSSA only. Don't bother with any dual stamped slowpitch bat.

 

[erniekru]

Yes, like JAG said...the ASA stamp is the ASA stamp no matter sp or fp. Weight and length curtail most not using sp
bats in fp. Most ASA bats start at 34/26...some have started going lighter but ALL are 34 inches. And a lot of sp bats
vary in barrel size. Many of the 24 and 25oz bats are 12inch barrels.

There's two different ASA stamps, the generally fastpitch ASA 2004 stamp(ASA Association) and the 2013 ASA Stamp (ASA Always). Granted old slowpitch bats had the 2004 stamp. That new MIKEN Freak Primo has the 2013 ASA Always stamp. So are 2013 stamps still good for fastpitch? I'm not an expert, but the small amount of googling that I did seems to indicate that they are not..

More specifically, there are two different standards for the two different stamps (98mph for the former, 100mph for the later). I also realize the testing protocol is different between the two stamps.

What are the different Bat Certifications?

As bat certifications continue to change we are here to try to help you sort out what they mean and which one you need on your bat. First and foremost what standard does your league use? You should check with your coach or league to make sure what bat certifications are required to avoid...

www.diamondsportgear.com

 

[CoreSoftball20]

I never really followed the new ASA stamp that much as its not been a major issue and its all
anybody swings in sp anymore but both are allowed. I know the first two stamps were allowed in fp. I assumed the new was as well....hmmmm. Never read in the parentheses on the usa site.

 

[Fury_Mike]

Not many girls can swing a 34”, -8 bat

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Not many girls can swing a 34”, -8 bat

Effectively, not many

 

[Westwind]

Technically speaking, That is a big old beast of a bat.

 

[justanotherguy]

I don't really believe it's hard, if they train for it. She trained for -3 BBCOR since she was 11. Once she reached middle school she made the baseball team and was a hard hitting batter, swinging a 31 -3 her first year and a 32 -3 her second. Moving to fastpitch at 14, FP bats just felt too light for her. I don't think she's anything super special to be able to swing a 34 -8, she just trained for a heavier bat. Any girl can do it IMO. They just don't HAVE to like the boys do. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the question, "How do I prepare my DS for BBCOR?" Easy, put it in their hands and practice with it, a lot.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Keep in mind the new “USA Softball” stamp will start appearing this year, so there will be one more in the 2020 book.