Best bat?

[W_Marone]

Can you guys tell me what company makes the best bats? I've heard Demarini, but then there's Louisville Slugger, Easton, Nike, etc.

[apbaseball12]

Can you guys tell me what company makes the best bats? I've heard Demarini, but then there's Louisville Slugger, Easton, Nike, etc.



metal or wood?? I'm guessing metal.. I prefer Easton, but I also like the new Liquid metal bat, it has great pop.

[W_Marone]

I mean I work at Dicks Sporting Goods we have a bunch of bats from a variety of companies, I just want to know which is the best metal bat so perhaps I can then decide which to buy after that.....they dont teach us which brand is best there.

[chesspirate]

If there was a definitive "best bat" everyone would be using it. Unfortunately a LOT of what makes a bat the 'best' for you has a lot to do with the balance and overall feel.

For me if an aluminum bat is to well balanced i don't like it, the bat head should be heavier than the handle, not the same weight, that's a stick not a bat. And the handle taper can really get me to.

But directly relating to science, the bat companies know what the metal they use for thier bats can do. Some metals are hader than others, some lighter so and and so forth, but the wall thickness or even the wall thicknesses consistency can make a difference.

I would like to see a large sample of newer aluminum bats tested on an iron byron or something similar. Y'know, set the ball on a tee, and have a number of hits on the sweet spot, off of the end, and on the handle, see the results on distance.

I guess the closest thing we have is the COR rating, but are those released? How about that guy that works for Louisville? Do you know anything about the aluminum bats too?

[W_Marone]

If there was a definitive "best bat" everyone would be using it. Unfortunately a LOT of what makes a bat the 'best' for you has a lot to do with the balance and overall feel.

For me if an aluminum bat is to well balanced i don't like it, the bat head should be heavier than the handle, not the same weight, that's a stick not a bat. And the handle taper can really get me to.

But directly relating to science, the bat companies know what the metal they use for thier bats can do. Some metals are hader than others, some lighter so and and so forth, but the wall thickness or even the wall thicknesses consistency can make a difference.

I would like to see a large sample of newer aluminum bats tested on an iron byron or something similar. Y'know, set the ball on a tee, and have a number of hits on the sweet spot, off of the end, and on the handle, see the results on distance.

I guess the closest thing we have is the COR rating, but are those released? How about that guy that works for Louisville? Do you know anything about the aluminum bats too?

ok well let me ask you this... in your opinion what company makes the best aluminum bats?

[chesspirate]

That's tough.

I'm not sure if any one company makes better bats up and down the line.

Easton seems to have the best selection of options with different technologies and ideas they're pushing.

Louisville doesn't seem to market very well, all their bats look the same besides graphics and stuff but overall it's a more 'natural' looking bat, no
2piecers but lots of different metals, and that new exogrid.

Rawlings doesn't have much outside the liquid metal bats but some people really fall in love with them.

I personally use a Dimarini but a lot of factors went into that, i will tell you though that from my perspective that bat has the most 'pop' that i've ever used on a a consistent basis, even though i'm getting some minor dents.

Like i said it's tough to say without a rigorous testing session. I'm not going to lay myself on the line when it could affect a purchase of $200 or $300 for someone, at that point you better really like it. Kinda like asking what company makes the best cars, there is such a wide range of answers to both questions, the consumer just needs to be happy with what they are purchasing.

[paul5150]

Well here's what i have to offer:

With Eastons: I notice they have some good pop, but my eastons die out the fastest.

With Liquid Metals: They have a crazy amount of pop, BUTTT they dent SO easily. Im on my third one this season.

With Demarini: By far my favorite bat. Has a very good amount of pop and is still like new even after this whole season, and ive played on three teams so far.

So i would go with a Demarini Vexxum.

Oh yea and i have the new Stealth Composite and i have to say i am very dissapointed with it.

[BMH]

I will agree.... We don't market our products very well to the masses.

Every company does lots of testing, we know what our product will do compared to others. I'm not going to comment on that because that's not why I'm here. I'm not going to say our product is better than so and so's and I will never say ours is inferior. I'm just here to help out with questions people have about LS.

I will say our bats have been used by the past four College World Series Champions in a row. That's all the advertising we need ;)

The Exogrid is a metal shell with a composite insert. Similar to the technology used in bike frames. It seems to be doing great because we can't keep up with demand in making them.

What I do find funny is the lack of an adult full composite bat on the market from us. I have two sitting in my office right now. I found them in the disposal bin to be crushed. I took them out to use in our cages. I asked up stairs in marketing why we weren't making them yet (I'm in wood bat, all the metals are done in California). The answer they gave me was pretty funny. Apparently the test groups they used (college teams) didn't like the fact the bat didn't "PING" when it hit the ball, it kinda makes a thud noise.

[chesspirate]

I will say our bats have been used by the past four College World Series Champions in a row. That's all the advertising we need ;)


That should be really the only thing you need to promote. The highest level of Aluminum bat users are winning with your product.

To bad about the composite story, a couple of guys on my team are talking about the Miken Freak and nobody has seen one or used one or anything but 2 or 3 guys are debating buying one based off just the information they've aquired through the internet. Darn those focus groups, my Dimarini doesn't make a 'ping' all the time but the ball flies.

[d-backsfan01]

metal is most likely easton
and wood is louisville slugger

[hitdapill]

We have always been TPX guys. I really like the Scandium Response..all the Omaha stuff.. durable,solid bats. I always thought the GenX series felt brittle. Anderson had a lot of pop...end cap blew off. Anderson replaced no questions asked. Great customer service. Demarini seems to "carry" well..just an observation after countless hours of shagging and throwing BP. Rawlings Liquid Metal has a lot of pop.

[Comm]

I can't wait for the day when Al-Bats are outlawed. Al-Bats are what makes the game a less of a challenge. Practise using wooden bats -- you'll go further.

[SluggerCF91]

I just bought the nike aero torque orange barrell/black hanndle. I think that the "pop" is all generally the same, u might have bat hit a few feet further, but it depends on how the bat is balanced, i hit the ball of the hnads a lot, so I looked for a bat with meat more by the hands, and I found it (im on fire by the way). If u hit the bat on the sweet spot a lot, buy a bat the has less meat on the hands like the 2006 air omaha (hate that bat). Because with less meat on the hands, thta calls for greater bat speed because of the top heaviness.

[wogdoggy]

I just bought the nike aero torque orange barrell/black hanndle. I think that the "pop" is all generally the same, u might have bat hit a few feet further, but it depends on how the bat is balanced, i hit the ball of the hnads a lot, so I looked for a bat with meat more by the hands, and I found it (im on fire by the way). If u hit the bat on the sweet spot a lot, buy a bat the has less meat on the hands like the 2006 air omaha (hate that bat). Because with less meat on the hands, thta calls for greater bat speed because of the top heaviness.


all these bats have controlled exit speeds so HOW can one have more than another?

[Gashouse6]

Demarini makes the best metal bats in general. They have the Vexxum and Voodoo, witch are great bats. I had a Vexxum and it was great. They last long, too. Worth bats have a lot of pop, but don't last long at all.

[SluggerCF91]

all these bats have controlled exit speeds so HOW can one have more than another?
Not sure I understand.

[BMH]

There is a controlled test that is performed on all bats by the NCAA to determine the speed of the ball coming off of a bat. I wouldn't touch that question with a 10ft. pole.

[SluggerCF91]

There is a controlled test that is performed on all bats by the NCAA to determine the speed of the ball coming off of a bat. I wouldn't touch that question with a 10ft. pole.
Theres always a variable involved, how hard u swing the bat, how fast the pitch, the air humidity, the balls softness (material), anything. Unless theres a noticeable difference in the way a ball pops off a certain bat, i dont think the alloy of the metal matters.

[BMH]

Please explain that to the people constantly suing bat manufacturers for making bats "too hot" even though they conform to NCAA standards.

[SluggerCF91]

I dont think college baseball should use metal bats anyway, but what are the NCAA standards?

[BMH]

http://www.ncaa.org/releases/rules/1998/1998080501ru.htm

[-Ru1n]

Louisville sluggers usually retain their pop longer than eastons.