expensive baseball bats worth it?

[SciFiMan]

Any baseball or softball people here?

My son, now 13, is becoming quite the baseball talent. He's been in little league for years and has been on 3 championship wins and last year won the homerun derby by a landslide out of over a dozen kids trying from teams that made the finals. He has had several coaches trying to get him the last 2 seasons and this year he was invited to try out for, and made, the expensive traveling team.

My question is on the bat. Do you think it's worth getting one of these $200-$300 bats that the propaganda says will "greatly improve your game"? He has been training this winter and has been doing some light weight training and baseball specfic training. I suppose it's sort of like getting a good consistant feel from using your own bowling ball or whatever rather than just picking up a random one each time. I'm just wondering it it's worth it. Thanks!

 

[jophus14]

I have never been on a team sport as a child, but my girlfriend,her dad and her brothers have played baseball/softball their whole life. I recently joined their softball league last season and when it came time to buy equipment (cleats, bat, glove) he won't let me buy anything cheap. Even though we only played like 8 games, I still had to get decent equipment. I believe the saying is true: "You get what you pay for." If your son is dedicated and you know that this bat will last him for some seasons, go for it. I wouldn't buy it if it was advertised like an info-mmercial is, but consider it a present to him and it might bring up his spirit abit and hopefully help him become a better ball player. I will ask my gfriends dad what he thinks. He collects gloves and stuff. I'll get back to you.

 

[NoRotorNoMotor]

I would get him his own bat but just get a good one, I dont think it needs to be a $300 bat cause he will outgrow it quickly. I had a Easton bat in little league and that thing held up forever, but I only used it a few seasons cause by then I had moved on to a longer heavier bat

Just like darts or bowling using the same item each time you play or practice will make your play more consistant cause you get used to the feel of it

Just my opinion though, I sucked at baseball

 

[SciFiMan]

....."You get what you pay for." If your son is dedicated and you know that this bat will last him for some seasons, go for it. I wouldn't buy it if it was advertised like an info-mmercial is

No, it's ones from Sports Authority or justbats.com. Quality brands, but I have to wonder if it's all just marketing beyon some price point. I'm sure I couldn't tell the difference, but can a really good player notice the difference between a $80 bat and a $180 bat?

I know the golfers always buy the expensive clubs to improve their game instead of spending more time practicing. But he is just 13 and growing like a weed so I would like it to last more than one season. But it is an investment either way. If he stays with it and gets a full scholarship someday, it's worth the expense each spring now.

 

[jred321]

when i used to play i could tell the difference between a cheap bat and a more expensive one. whether it's worth it or not is up to you cause when batting you still need to hit the ball solidly and no bat will help you do that.

 

[Newf]

Personally I prefer a Dog or even a cat

Bats creep me out




Don't hate me

 

[Mr. Win]

I would get him his own bat but just get a good one, I dont think it needs to be a $300 bat cause he will outgrow it quickly. I had a Easton bat in little league and that thing held up forever, but I only used it a few seasons cause by then I had moved on to a longer heavier bat

Try a play it again sports if you can... to pick up a nice used bat. Like above he will out grow that bat and in prob another year. He want a heavier bat once he starts highschool or the end of middle.

300 dollars is not justified but 150 might be... but he will grow out of it soon.

 

[Rawyzf]

Bats make a huge difference, at least in softball.

These newer composite bats or double/triple wall bats are letting little base hitters put the ball to the fence and over.

-Ryan

 

[Snacks McGee]

I prefer the classic lumber myself. (silly)

 

[AndrewF150]

No, it's ones from Sports Authority or justbats.com. Quality brands, but I have to wonder if it's all just marketing beyon some price point. I'm sure I couldn't tell the difference, but can a really good player notice the difference between a $80 bat and a $180 bat?

I know the golfers always buy the expensive clubs to improve their game instead of spending more time practicing. But he is just 13 and growing like a weed so I would like it to last more than one season. But it is an investment either way. If he stays with it and gets a full scholarship someday, it's worth the expense each spring now.

I can give you a pretty defenative answer...YES! The bat can make the difference. When I played baseball I had a cheaper bat myself, it was heavy and hard to hit with. But when I did hit with it, the ball went a little ways...nothing special. My best friend however had gotten one of the nice $300 dollar bats that was nice and light and designed to let the ball fly. It did its job VERY well too, I hit more with that bat and the ball went farther with that bat than a lot of bats.

Now from a more professional point of view, coming from a friend of mine who is looking at going pro, you should get the better bat if you can afford it. If your son is playing in a league that doesn't use good old wood bats, and uses the aluminum spend the extra money, get him the bat. From reading what you said, it sounds like your son is into this for the long haul and is commited, so get him the bat it will help. In his case where he sounds to be an amazing player already, you might not notice this astronomical difference like in my case, but there will enough difference that he can tell. That is what counts, even if it ends up making him think he is better, than he will play better.

 

[4001]

Its not the bat that makes the player....

 

[AndrewF150]

Its not the bat that makes the player....

EXACTLY! If the only reason to get the bat was to try and make the player, than it isn't gonna do much..maybe help a little. However! If the player can play, the bat will only help out!

Much like in tennis...the raquet doesn't make the player, but a good one sure as hell doesn't hurt!

 

[Snacks McGee]

Just juice up (jerkit) . You'll have the first ever 13 year old to hit a 600 foot homerun. Just kidding. Baseball is such a sham now. IMHO.

 

[eepr5]

two seasons ago, when the base league softball team i'm on started, we had a small collection of decent to crappy bats. I'll admit I don't hit well, hard or far, but I am consistent, and I could tell a slight difference between some of the bats. In the fall season, we had a player from another (much better) team join ours (his wasn't playing) and he convinced us we needed a better bat. We all chipped in like $15 and he got us a bat online that happened to be on sale. Lets just say the difference was huge. It was alot more comfortable to hit (better sweet spot, less jarring to hands) and everybody was hitting farther with it. Even me. Lets just say we used it so much we had to send it back before the next season to be replaced under warranty. We ended up getting a couple more good bats the next season, and the really bad bats stopped showing up, cause nobody used em.

 

[katsmp3]

I played 13 years. It makes a huge difference.

 

[4001]

I played for a few less years and I played with just an average bat that I was comfortable with nothing special just a medicore bat and I was a soild hitter (Usually 1-2-3 in the line-up).... Like I said its not the bat that makes the player...