Opinions on bat comparison...

[RGB&&]

Hello,
We have been a Louisville slugger family for the last5 years. My daughter loves her 2016 Xeno and 2020 LXT. She has recently swung am Easton Ghost. She claimed it had SO MUCH POP! I have heard they break like crazy, and have read of girls breaking 2 in one year. i am concerned because My wife and I are both teachers, and work multiple jobs. With that being said, I dont want to fork out that much money and be screwed with a broken bat. Daughter is 5'9 and strong. Going into 9th grade. I would love some feedback from some fastpitch parents. Thank you very much! Also is there a difference with ghost double barrel or or advanced and regular?

 

[Bonesaw]

Is there a length or weight change happening? Or does she just have ghost fever...

 

[black17]

I can assure you beyond any science imaginable, the LS XENO and RXT are AS GOOD as any Easton Ghost performance wise and will last longer. I'd stake a LARGE pile of $ on that statement. All the sensory cues that make you think its hotter are not actual performance enhancements.

We did the Ghost exchange dance many MANY times over the past few years. We have returned 12 Ghosts in 4 years. We returned 7 of the blue Ghosts alone in the first year they came out. NUTS!

DD tried last years LS RXT model and it SMOKES!!! That RXT made it through the entire HS season and now is 2 tourneys away from lasting her entire summer season as well. Its been a LONG TIME since one bat made it thru 2 full playing seasons. By season I am referring to the weather seasons. We play year around and play about 30 games each season.

Full disclosure, she has broken an LS bat in the past. Nothing is immune from the occasional warranty return.

I'd stick with the LS.

 

[Pigskinguru34]

Blah blah blah.

Performance and your kid are right!

You want the top performance, then swing a Ghost. Yes they have a durability issue.

So the question becomes will you choose less performance for greater durability? If so then stick with Louisville Slugger/Demarini bats.

If you want top performance then the Ghost is the bat but hold onto the receipt as you will likely have it break in the 1 year time window. Luckily Easton knows this and currently has one of the easiest warranty replacement processes there is.

if I were you, get the ghost she likes best and tell her it is for game use only. Use the current Slugger bat for warmups, tee work, cages, etc. and it will preserve the ghost for what matters most, giving her the optimum performance during game time.

 

[midwestdad]

Bat compression is a science I have tried to understand and have yet to find anyone that really knows the science behind it. I have done a lot of testing with a lot of bats with little explanation for the results.

 

[HunterMO]

Im not going to tell anyone how to or how not to spend their money. But I am of the mind that the skill/mechanics have to justify the quality of tool being used. Or at least the investment is being put into said skill work to get better.

I see locally so many 12u/14u girls at the C and B level swinging a Ghost (and now Mantra) but their mechanics aren’t great. Many are only getting singles because they don’t spend time on hitting. They rely on a hot bat to off set poor mechanics. One girl on DD’s school team only bunted because it was the only way to get her on base. Guess what she bunted with? A Ghost.

We told DD that if she started spending time on her hitting and actually practicing outside her lessons we’d upgrade her into a Xeno (from a low level composite she had). Between her work and new bat singles turned into doubles and even triples. It wasn’t just that the ball was coming off harder….it was where in the OF it was going. But you can tell when it’s a mis-hit or she misses the sweet spot. IMO….the Xeno isn’t as forgiving as other models. For now DD loves her bats. And won’t even try to swing something else (despite me trying to see if she likes another better).

She will continue to use her Xeno’s through next year (barring another growth spurt). After that (and if she continues working) we will look at a Ghost because her skill set “should” justify it by then.

The Ghost is un-arguably a high performance tool. But to get that it’s also less durable. You either feel the ends justify the means or you don’t. Right now, we don’t. Having DD continue to work on her mechanics has provided her more gains than simply investing $300+ on a single bat. I bought two 2019 Xeno’s (NIW) for the price of a new Ghost. Probably didn’t even need two but her gamer this year will become her cage/practice bat next year.

Again, I’m not saying don’t buy a Ghost. I’m also not saying go buy one. Just providing food for thought for your decision making. A lot of girls (youth to D1) hit hard and see gains with other bats on the market that you can find for less. You need to take an honest look at where your DD is in her hitting journey. Is a Ghost the investment needed? Or would hitting lessons and cage time be the better investment?

 

[black17]

Blah blah blah.

Lol, is that directed to me?

I stand by my word. I don't take bat performance lightly. The extra RXTs in the wrapper are for my kids next 4 years of college. She also has two more with her at the ballpark as we speak. All of those Ghosts are warranty replacements that will never see usage again. Disagree if you want, but not like that.

 

[Pigskinguru34]

I have yet to see a ghost be outperformed.

Now mind you, any girl can hit with any bat, college proves that as girls get bound by a school’s bat agreement and still hit regardless.

I just hate that I continually hear “oh yeah it is hot until it breaks” and then use that to say another bat is better. If durability is the only criteria then okay the ghost loses. But to me performance trumps durability and that is why I would want my hitters swinging a ghost.

so this is all I am Saying, if you got tired of having to replace a ghost okay, don’t tell me “fill in the blank” is better because it is not breaking like her ghost did and that to me is all I see. Not, yeah my DD swung a ghost but switched to “fill in the blank” because she has better exit velocity, power, etc. with the “fill in the blank”.

 

[_MIA_]

Bat compression is a science I have tried to understand and have yet to find anyone that really knows the science behind it. I have done a lot of testing with a lot of bats with little explanation for the results.

Standard compression tests are static tests. Much of bat performance is probably due to the trampoline effect which is a dynamic phenomena. The easiest way of understanding it is that through this effect, you are recovering some of the energy which is initially lost when the bat is compressed. I am sure bat manufacturers have done quite a bit of dynamic analysis (modal analysis, etc) in order to try and optimize this over a set of operating conditions (ball/bat contact point, ball/bat speed).

Also, for what its worth, the dynamic analysis I mentioned is a much easier problem than any sort of "failure" analysis they may be performing for a number of reasons...

 

[Dandan111]

Rxt looks like a strong bat.