Little League Baseball bat?

mattun

mattun

Internet Tough Guy
Anybody have any views on the 2012 bats? My kid is doing 7/8 year old pitching machine this year for the first time, but they haven't posted any bat rules. He's 4 ft and 50lbs. He busted his 26" 15.5oz Coach Pitch bat in the cages over the weekend, but didn't miss a beat going with a 27" 17oz Worth Lithium Coach Pitch (I actually think he was hitting better with the extra reach after struggling to catch up last year until we moved him back to his 26" bats) . I was thinking about getting him like an Easton Rival XXL Senior League 27/17 since he really doesn't need the fat Coach Pitch bat, but wasn't sure if there were better options. Any help would be appreciated.
 
KDEflyers

KDEflyers

Addicted to Softballfans
Don't spend too much on a bat for a little kid. Spend your money on sending him to summer and winter break hitting clinic's/camp's at local High School's and college's. Thank me in a couple years. I guarantee you will see him pass up kids that are better than him now.
 
2

20four

Addicted to Softballfans
KDEflyers said:
Don't spend too much on a bat for a little kid. Spend your money on sending him to summer and winter break hitting clinic's/camp's at local High School's and college's. Thank me in a couple years. I guarantee you will see him pass up kids that are better than him now.
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Hitting clinics are gtg. you can tell which kids go to them.
 
mattun

mattun

Internet Tough Guy
Well, in theory I should be able to do both, right? Let's slow down, he's five and been hitting pitched balls since he was two. So he totally has this "I've got this" attitude with hitting. He'll mostly listen to coaching on defense, but he shoots daggers at us with his eyes whenever we tell him to bend his knees or get his elbow up. It was a major break this weekend when he was watching a teenager hitting in the 70 cage and he finally almost bought "you'll hit for more power if..." and he copied him for like three pitches and then went back to doing his thing. We'll see how little league goes this year before trying a camp. So anybody have any bat ideas? I'm trying to tempt him to use his 27" birch in games, but the cages don't allow wood bats so he might not be comfortable with it unless he hits it a lot in practice.
 
W

Whitey0817

Addicted to Softballfans
Get him an older pre bbcor highschool bat and shave 7-8 ounces out, it'll be like he's swinging one of those big red whiffle ball bats
 
mattun

mattun

Internet Tough Guy
Yeah, he'd probably really like the looks of an Omen too. Is there much difference between the 2011 Easton Omen Xl LNC1XL Bat (-12) 28/16 and the 2012 Easton Omen XL BNC10XL Bat (-10) 27/17 besides the stamp and 2oz drop?
 
R

Richmond_Ump

Addicted to Softballfans
Both my 11 and 8 year olds use the Easton Convert (-12) for Rec ball. It is such a good bat that others on their teams are buying them. It is a composite handle/alloy barrel. Just got my little guy (about the same size as your son - little for his age) a 27/15 from ********.com. $99 - free shipping - ordered on Monday and received yesterday.
 
Lord7

Lord7

Banned User
I wouldn't put too much thought into it as a 7-8 year old isn't going to swing hard enough to make that much of a difference. Combat seems to have the best little league bats. I think any higher dollar bat that your kid is comfortable swinging and likes the looks of will get the job done at this stage of the game.
 
mattun

mattun

Internet Tough Guy
Yeah, I guess I just have the softball mentality of not wanting him to go out there outgunned since he's 5-years-old and playing older kids. But I have been wondering about wall flex. Like Richmond Ump's recommendation of the Convert (a 7050 airplane alloy bat... remember those?) and that I think the two furthest balls I've seen my kid hit were with his cheap metal T-ball bat makes me wonder if you'll looking more for sledgehammer effect vs. trampoline with little guys.
 
Rob Ots

Rob Ots

I love lamp
I bought my kid the Psycho Big Barrel 28" 16.5 oz bat for his 9U travel team last year and he loved it. Only problem is, I wanted to break it in for him so we went to the cages in early April in Michigan. I let him take some cuts to try and open it up. Well, I watched him hit a few and then I said let me see that thing, I'll break it in for you and I started swinging at 45mph pitches with one hand. After about 20 balls it did start to open up, but then...it cracked. Developed a small stress crack in the barrel, but my son used it the whole season and was smashing the ball. I'm going to send it back to Miken and get a size bigger and he will use it this season. It is a very impressive bat and all the other kids were using aluminum bats and whenever he connected with a pitch it sounded like a gun going off. All the parents thought it was a wood bat. I would definitely recommend this bat, just don't swing it in anything under 50 degrees.
 
Rob Ots

Rob Ots

I love lamp
also, my kid started playing on a new travel team this season and one of his coaches was a former major leaguer who played briefly for the Yankees and Tigers. He pretty much told us that everything we were ever taught about hitting is wrong. No raising the elbow or taking large steps toward the ball for power. His philosophy is to have a wide stance and keep your feet planted in the box, with your left arm as straight as you can with just a little bend in the elbow (for right handed hitters). This is for kids who as they advance will see faster and faster pitching and it will help them catch up with the ball. Might take away a little power, but at this age, it's all about making contact. My son is learing to adjust to it, because he usually lifts that front leg and steps into the ball, but ever since he's started doing it this way, he is making contact with every pitch and hitting alot more line drives.
 
mattun

mattun

Internet Tough Guy
Did it seem like the composites were outhitting the metals in general? It seems like there's plenty of options in the 27/28" and 16-18oz range and I wouldn't mind getting him a high end bat (preferably got a deal on it however). He has his first practice on Tuesday, so I was going to check out what the other kids are hitting and talk to the coach about bat rules. Seems like if they're not enforcing the bat ban, I should grab him one of the illegal compsites if I can find one cheap, right? If not, then get like an Omen or Psycho with the stamp.
 
Rob Ots

Rob Ots

I love lamp
composite was outhitting the aluminum for sure. It just seems like the ball jumps off the bat quicker, and not as many mi****s. I've swung all of his bats in the cages just to get a feel for them. He has a few aluminum Eastons that are on the low end and a worth that isn't bad, but the Psycho and DeMarini composite are much better for distance, speed and feel.
 
mattun

mattun

Internet Tough Guy
Did my taxes last night and am getting a bunch back, so it seems like it would just be wrong not to get him a variety of bats to hit. Softball Bat Ho rules apply, right? Gamer, backup, backup of backup, and team bat for each USSSA/Outlaw/Metal/Coach Pitch/Wood variation.
 
Rob Ots

Rob Ots

I love lamp
mattun said:
Did my taxes last night and am getting a bunch back, so it seems like it would just be wrong not to get him a variety of bats to hit. Softball Bat Ho rules apply, right? Gamer, backup, backup of backup, and team bat for each USSSA/Outlaw/Metal/Coach Pitch/Wood variation.
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what's the harm in that? Good luck to you and your son.
 
Blackshirts5

Blackshirts5

Addicted to Softballfans
I just bought both my boys an easton Omen. Sweet bats for sure. First thing you need to see is if your league is going to check the bats to see if they are approved or not. I know the Omen is on the GTG list.
 
mattun

mattun

Internet Tough Guy
So just found out there's no big barrels. I grabbed a Convert XL 27/15 just because the price and weight was right and it'll be here before his first practice (figured it woudl be the perfect "control" bat). Anybody want to sell me on something other than the 28/16 Omen LNC1XL as a composite option?
 
A

allcoed

Addicted to Softballfans
sorry to chirp in but the Rival and Prodigy out hit everything. I have been coaching at the 8-10u level for the last four years. Once they got rid of the coach pitch bats nothing else is even close. Don't waste your money on the composites, they are banned in most leagues and still are out performed by the rival.
 
Rob Ots

Rob Ots

I love lamp
allcoed said:
sorry to chirp in but the Rival and Prodigy out hit everything. I have been coaching at the 8-10u level for the last four years. Once they got rid of the coach pitch bats nothing else is even close. Don't waste your money on the composites, they are banned in most leagues and still are out performed by the rival.
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Hey I'm just curious as to why you say that the Rival out performs composite bats? I've really only seen my son using composite since he started playing kid pitch and no one else on the team swings a composite bat so I really don't have anything to compare it to, other than his old coach pitch/tee ball cheap walmart bats he had when he was 7. I mean if when playing softball composite bats are superior, wouldn't they be when playing baseball too? I realize younger kids may not have the power to properly "break in" a composite bat, but I've done that for him. Just wanted to get your feedback. I may want to switch to the Prodigy or Rival for him this year.
 
burned_ya

burned_ya

on the field!
the rival and prodigy aren't that good they are a decent alloy bat witha fierce endload and dent and crack very easy so it lets you know how thin the walls are.
It is easier to flex a alloy bat over a composite that isn't broken in.

when kids are under 11 most can't and aren't strong enough to swing Bb or composites unless the composite is broken in.

Most good leagues are not banning composite they are just testing them. Usssa went with their new stamp which most companies will stamp their old bats if they are still NIW.

A broken in 2-1/4" Combat B2 and B1 will out hit just about every BB bat. The problem is for the strong hitters they break very easy.
 
nwebber

nwebber

Addicted to Softballfans
Lord7 said:
I wouldn't put too much thought into it as a 7-8 year old isn't going to swing hard enough to make that much of a difference. Combat seems to have the best little league bats. I think any higher dollar bat that your kid is comfortable swinging and likes the looks of will get the job done at this stage of the game.
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I got my boy a 27/15 Combat Grifter LL Bat and he loves it. I paid south of $80 NIW on the bay this past fall. The smaller length ones go pretty cheap for a legit bat.
 
mattun

mattun

Internet Tough Guy
Ugh, so I picked up a new 27"/15 Convert and a 28"/15 Combat B1 Alloy thinking that'll hold him until I see what the other teams are swinging. I'm in the backyard doing some honey-dos and my kid cruises out with the 30"/20.5oz Reebok Vector I picked up for a song last year as a "future option". He proceed to wack the hell out of the hit away with it and then proclaims he's cool with the big bat now. Thinking I'm calling his bluff (I bring his smaller bat too), I take him to the batting cages. First round in the 50mph cage, he misses four pitches with it. Next two pitches. All the while hitting a lot of solid line drives and even turning on inside pitches up in his eyes. I actually starting thinking he was reaching a lot of balls that were too far out for him in the past. He tired out with it pretty quickly, but now I'm kinda thinking 29"/17-19oz bats for him. Are there better 2 1/4" barrell options in that range?
 
hacker72

hacker72

Addicted to Softballfans
mattun said:
So just found out there's no big barrels. I grabbed a Convert XL 27/15 just because the price and weight was right and it'll be here before his first practice (figured it woudl be the perfect "control" bat). Anybody want to sell me on something other than the 28/16 Omen LNC1XL as a composite option?
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They have some of these in 29/17 for 119 del. Dont know if that helps you out any.
 
jaj23

jaj23

Eye Baller
Rob Ots said:
Hey I'm just curious as to why you say that the Rival out performs composite bats? I've really only seen my son using composite since he started playing kid pitch and no one else on the team swings a composite bat so I really don't have anything to compare it to, other than his old coach pitch/tee ball cheap walmart bats he had when he was 7. I mean if when playing softball composite bats are superior, wouldn't they be when playing baseball too? I realize younger kids may not have the power to properly "break in" a composite bat, but I've done that for him. Just wanted to get your feedback. I may want to switch to the Prodigy or Rival for him this year.
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That's because they aren't better. Get it out of your head.
 
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