Quick buying guide
If you need a bat fast--for yourself or your nephew--and have no clue what to buy, one of these should work.
Louisville Slugger Composite 271 Turning model Wood Bat TPXC271
If you want it to feel like wood but not break as easy, get this popular composite bat.
Amazon Price: (as of 10/11/2008)
Louisville Slugger Flame Tempered 15/16" handle Pro Stock Wooden Bat MLBC2171
If you want a classic wood bat like the pros have used forever, this is for you.
Amazon Price: (as of 10/11/2008)
Mizuno Classic Natural Wood Bat CLOSEOUT BCC2000
If you prefer Target to Wal-Mart and Sam Adams to Budweiser, skip the Slugger and get this. (Then tell everyone that Mizuno's a Japanese company and this bat is like those used by Chipper Jones, Mike Piazza, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez.)
Amazon Price: (as of 10/11/2008)
Wilson Sam Bat Maple Barry Bonds 2K1 BB2533
If you gotta have the bat Barry Bonds uses, even if it costs about twice as much as most pro stock bats. (If you've gotten this far and still can't find what you need, click here to see ALL ADULT WOOD BATS ON AMAZON.com.)
Amazon Price: (as of 10/11/2008)
Required reading
- The Sporting News: "More equal than others: the quality of player's bat often is relative to his place on baseball's totem pole--the higher, the better"
- Big leaguers talking about the factors in getting bats made of "good" wood or "bad" wood and their relationships with Louisville Slugger.
- Baseball Digest: "Caged heat: where players chat and work on the art of hitting"
- An inside look at Major League, pre-game batting practice, the best place to hear the sweetest sounds wood bats can make.
- BaseballTips.com: "How to Choose a Wood Bat"
- A solid summary of the various types of wood bats, how to care for them, reasons to use wood instead of metal, and a helpful glossary at the end for newbies.
- Sports Illustrated for Kids: "A Bat is Born: The Story Of A Tree That Ends Up Walloping Home Runs"
- A step-by-step account of the making of a Louisville Slugger C271 for former Cincinnati Reds centerfielder Eric Davis.
Companies + websites
Rule of thumb: the more popular the brand, the more useless the website -- so don't get mad when you can't buy Louisville Slugger, Rawlings, Easton, and Mizuno from their own sites. I listed them below just to cover all the bases (pun intended). For the good stuff on today's wood bats, it pays to dig through the sites of lesser known brands, especially for descriptions of manufacturing processes and lists of players who use their bats. And once you're lookin' to buy, CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL ADULT WOOD BATS ON AMAZON.COM -- they're sure to have the major brands, and often better prices on some lesser known brands than you'll find on the company-direct websites listed below.
- Louisville Slugger
- The Official Bat of Major League Baseball.
- Rawlings
- Widely used in the big leagues, but their website gives no more information than you'd get from product listings on Amazon.com or elsewhere.
- Easton
- Their wood bats are used by many major league players even though the company's focus really is metal bats.
- Mizuno
- Japanese company whose wood is used by All-Stars such as Todd Helton, Hideki Matsui, and Scott Rolen.
- Sam Bats
- These bats, created by woodcarver Sam Holman in Canada, started the whole maple craze in the majors (coincidentally, around the same time as the use of steroids became apparent). Barry Bonds is a big user...of Sam Bats, I mean.
- Brett Brothers
- Company of George Brett and his brothers
- X Bats
- Cool company. You choose the length, weight, colors, and even the inscription on these major-league quality bats (Ash is $70, Maple $90).
- Akadema Pro
- They've got ash, maple, and composite bats, but their cool new thing is a "Taction" handle coating made with sunflower shells, walnut shells, and sand.
- D-BAT
- Don't know much about these guys, but I was pleased to learn of their D-LITE bats, which have (-4) and (-5) weight:length ratios that would be great for junior high players just starting to use wood.
- MaxBat
- Rock maple bat makers in Minnesota -- with an attitude. The company slogan is "Our Maple Kicks Ash" and one real wood--not composite--bat even comes with a 30-day warranty, as if they're daring you to try to break it.
- Bayou Bats
- Basically two buddies in Louisiana without much distribution, but you might be interested in their "tracing" service...they'll reproduce your favorite old bats that aren't made anymore.
- Diablo Bats
- Made in Arizona by the tatooed Romeo Filip and used by Eric Chavez, Pat Burrell, and Jermaine Dye.
- Blast Bats
- At $59 each, these are among the most affordable high-quality rock maple bats you'll find. Made in Dallas, Texas.
- BWP Bats
- They have American Red Oak bats in addition to maple and ash. Made in Brookville, PA, about 2 hours northeast of Pittsburgh.
- Carolina Clubs
- Another brand used in the big leagues and one people just love saying because of the alliteration.
- Hoosier
- Saw a Matt Lawton game-used Hoosier bat in the Indians Team Shop at Jacobs Field recently. Made in Valparaiso, Indiana. Go Valpo!
FAQ
- Why are you supposed to hit with the label "up"?
Bat makers place the label so that if it's facing up when you make contact, you're striking the ball on the "side" of the bat, parallel to the grains or "with the grains." The wood is strongest in that orientation, so you'll hit the ball as hard as possible. Given the symmetry of bats, you can achieve the same effect by striking the ball with the label facing down. You'll see some pro players do it this way. (If you're looking this up to settle an argument with your friends, show them the envelope test to avoid wasting as much time as these guys did.) - How big can a bat be?
The Official Rules of Major League Baseball (Rule 1.10) say a bat must be "not more than 2 3/4 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length."
For sale on eBay in "Sporting Goods"
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
For sale on eBay in "Sports Memorabilia"
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
