Coach’s Corner

Is it time to find a bat? Here are some tips and a guide to help with the bat selection process.

The number that you see on bats refers to the length of the bat (in inches) subtracted from the weight (in ounces). So if you have a bat that’s 28 inches long that weighs 20 ounces you’d have a -8 bat. For boys’ baseball, they will eventually need to go to a -3 bat once they get older and play at higher levels of competition, but at the younger ages they can use anything the bat manufacturers can produce.

The current lightest weight differential is -13. These allow you to get a longer bat in lighter weights.

Generally it requires higher technology to produce these bats, thus raising the price for them. Because they are so light they are also susceptible to denting (especially in cold weather) making them illegal to use (if dented). They do help create faster bat speed and also have larger sweet spots, which is why people are willing to take the risks and invest the higher dollars.

Just make sure they can control it. This is done by watching a swing and making sure there isn’t a big hitch in their swing and another way is to have the kid hold a bat out in front of them with one hand. If they can hold the bat out for 20 – 30 seconds without having the hands drop it will be okay.

Youth League Baseball (approx. 8-10 yrs)