we learned 2 things today

[CoreSoftball20]

Pick up a $25 Walmart bat and go have a HR derby with the $300 bat you bought. Report back with the difference.

He said if your 13yo barrels up, there isnt much diff between all the TOP of the line 300 dollar bats. Not 25
bats at Walmart

"You barrel up the ball (which should be the main concern for a 13 YO) and there will be minimal difference between all these 300+ dollar bats..certainly not 20 ft of difference."

 

[ian]

Always been an Easton man, myself.

 

[ian]

I don't think that's what he meant. Everyone knows a $25 bat won't compare to a $400 bat. The differences in performance between $400 bats is negligible.

Which bat is a little better?

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Which bat is a little better?

Whichever bat the player prefers to swing. A $15,000 bat won't cure a $25 swing.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Which bat is a little better?

Can a bat hit noticeably better, yes. Its all about feel of a bat. Usually Easton fans will not
hit Demarinis as well at all and so on.
But at young ages, hitting the barrel is key...hahaha.

 

[ian]

Whichever bat the player prefers to swing. A $15,000 bat won't cure a $25 swing.

There is a notible difference in high end bats. Size/location of sweet spot, swing weight, balance... and yes exit velocity.

You should know that.

 

[_MIA_]

There is a notible difference in high end bats. Size/location of sweet spot, swing weight, balance... and yes exit velocity.

You should know that.

MOI and balance (which are related) fall under player preference to some extent. Having a larger sweet spot would obviously be an advantage. I think the difference in exit speed, everything else being the same (eg swing speed and contact on sweet spot), wouldn’t be more than a few mph for all the high end bats. At least that is what I see when people post exit speed numbers using various bats (and who knows how the other differences mentioned affect the swing speed/contact location in those cases)

 

[LEsoftballdad]

There is a notible difference in high end bats. Size/location of sweet spot, swing weight, balance... and yes exit velocity.

You should know that.

I do know that, but you're arguing about variables in the swing. A clean mechanical swing is much more likely to barrel a ball up on the sweet spot than a bad swing. When a ball is hit on the sweet spot of any high-level bat, it's going to be hit hard. The EV differences are miniscule between the expensive models.

Ask yourself this question. Do you think Oklahoma would have hit a lot more home runs than they did if they were using Ghost bats instead of Mantras? I would bet the answer is no.

I have a daughter who has no personal affinity towards any bat brand. In the fall of 2021, she hit three home runs in one tournament with three different bats. Homer #1 was with her 2020 DS Ghost. Homer #2 was with her Marucci Echo Connect. Homer #3 was with her 2021 LXT. All three of them were over 200' fences, and they all cleared the fence by at least 20'. My daughter has a beautiful swing that she works very hard at all the time. Would she have hit a fourth homer that weekend with a Ghost versus her LXT? Not likely, as she didn't get enough launch angle on any of her other hits.

Honestly, go with the bat that makes your daughter the happiest and fits in your budget.

 

[ian]

I do know that, but you're arguing about variables in the swing. A clean mechanical swing is much more likely to barrel a ball up on the sweet spot than a bad swing. When a ball is hit on the sweet spot of any high-level bat, it's going to be hit hard. The EV differences are miniscule between the expensive models.

Ask yourself this question. Do you think Oklahoma would have hit a lot more home runs than they did if they were using Ghost bats instead of Mantras? I would bet the answer is no.

I have a daughter who has no personal affinity towards any bat brand. In the fall of 2021, she hit three home runs in one tournament with three different bats. Homer #1 was with her 2020 DS Ghost. Homer #2 was with her Marucci Echo Connect. Homer #3 was with her 2021 LXT. All three of them were over 200' fences, and they all cleared the fence by at least 20'. My daughter has a beautiful swing that she works very hard at all the time. Would she have hit a fourth homer that weekend with a Ghost versus her LXT? Not likely, as she didn't get enough launch angle on any of her other hits.

Honestly, go with the bat that makes your daughter the happiest and fits in your budget.

So you think the LXT is the best? You could be right.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

So you think the LXT is the best? You could be right.

No, I'm saying there is no best. Use the bat that you like best. The differences are minimal.