Buy Youth Baseball Bat
Do you want to pique your child’s interest in baseball? Give them the greatest baseball bat for kids. These are role models who can inspire your youngster to believe that with enough practice and patience, they can hit the home runs they’ve always wanted. These bats would also make your child feel safe. This is how.
When it comes to baseball bat parts, the best youth baseball bats feature a large sweet spot and are built of extremely durable materials. While the former will assist your child in hitting home runs, the latter will reduce vibration transfer between the barrel and the handle.
But where do you find such a bat for your child? This is where this buying guide for youth baseball bats comes in handy. When purchasing a child baseball bat, there are various aspects to consider. Some of them may be familiar to you, such as the components of a baseball bat. Others may have escaped your notice, but both must have influenced your final selection.
What are the parts of a baseball bat?
Manufacturers divide the pieces of a baseball bat into five groups, as shown below:
On the tail end, we have the knob and the grip. As you swing the bat, the knob and grip keep your hands securely in place. The likelihood of the bat slipping from your hand is reduced if the parts of a baseball bat you’re buying have a solid grip and knob.
Second, the taper refers to the rise in diameter from the handle to the barrel. The weight distribution of the bat is shown by the diameter transition between the barrel and handle. A slow taper, for example, has a balanced feel because the bat’s weight is equally distributed over the body. A rapid taper, on the other hand, gives the barrel an end-loaded feel, which is ideal for power hitters.
The third point of contact for a baseball is the barrel of the bat. The stronger the bat’s swing, the greater the concentration of mass within the barrel. The heavier the bat, however, the more difficult it is to swing, especially for novice players. A bat with a thinner barrel, on the other hand, is faster and lighter. As a result, a batter must understand which bat is optimal for his swinging approach.
Finally, the barrel is held together by the end cap at the bat’s tip. Furthermore, an end cap reduces the weight of a barrel while increasing control.
How to Choose the Best Youth Baseball Bats
Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to choose a young baseball bat now that we’ve covered the anatomy of a baseball bat. Before purchasing a child baseball bat, purchasers should check off a few items on their checklist to ensure that they get a high-quality bat. When selecting a child baseball bat, there are several aspects to consider.
Construction Materials
Wood
The most common types of wood used in baseball bats are:
Ash bats are simple to use for those who have never used a wood bat before. They’re less expensive, have more elasticity, and their many wood strands keep the bat together even when it breaks. When hit on the incorrect side, ash bats, on the other hand, are prone to peeling apart.
Maple wood bats are extremely dense, allowing a perfectly hit ball to go further. They don’t flake as much, and the majority of them have a ‘trophy shine,’ which will help distinguish these bats on the field. They are, however, heavier and harder to swing for persons with weak forearms.
Birch: These models are extremely forgiving of mis-hits and offer the ability to give their shots extra ‘whip’. That isn’t to say they are without flaws. Birch bats are soft and need to be broken in for a few days. Their softness also has an effect on the ball’s speed of exit.
Aluminum
Wood bats break frequently, which is one of the reasons why many players dislike them. Even in slow pitch softball, something as simple as rotating their label off-center could cause them to give way.
Aluminum bats, on the other hand, do not have this problem. They’re also considerably lighter than their wooden equivalents. This gives these bats faster swing rates and allows them to strike the ball further.
The good news doesn’t stop there. Bats made of aluminum alloy have a longer barrel and a larger sweet spot. As a result, you can bank on them to boost your batting average and enhance your batting percentage.
Composite
Composite bats are constructed of graphite, carbon fiber, fiberglass, and, in certain circumstances, Kevlar. They come in both one-piece and two-piece designs, allowing the player to choose the one that best suits their playing style.
When compared to their aluminum equivalents, they last longer than wood bats but break down faster. Abuse or misuse causes these bats to break, unlike aluminum bats, which dent rather than break.
There’s one more item to consider when it comes to composite bats. In cold weather, their performance suffers, and these bats might take up to 200 hits to break in. As a result, your youngster will need to be patient with them at first.
Weight Gain and Loss
Whether you want your child’s bat to be light or heavy is a personal preference. Children who are still learning the rules of the game should choose the former. Children who are a little older may like to use heavier bats to test their forearms.
The drop weight of a bat — the difference between its weight and its length – is the same way. For beginners, models with a higher drop are lighter and hence easier to handle and swing. Those with a lower drop are generally used by veterans who want to add a lot of power to their shots.
The bat’s length
For your child’s game, selecting the proper length young baseball bat is critical. Swinging models that are too big for them will be difficult. Those who are too little, on the other hand, will not be able to cover the entire striking zone, limiting the shots they can take.
There are two approaches to choose the right bat length for your child:
Make your child stand against a wall with their back to you. Place a bat against their leg and if it reaches their mid-hip, it’s the right length.
Make your child stand straight against a solid object once more. Request that they position the bat’s knob in the middle of their chest and stretch the barrel towards the direction of their vision. If they can touch the end of it with their fingertips, it’s the correct length for them.
Diameter of barrel
The barrel is the part of a baseball bat’s anatomy where the ball hits the bat. It’s the spot where your youngster wants the ball to land in order for it to travel further. Barrel diameters are measured in inches and come in a variety of sizes.
You are unable to select any barrel diameter. All bats used in one of Little League’s four league levels must have a barrel diameter of no more than 2 5/8 inches.
Handle
There are two types of handles on baseball bats:
Thick Handle: In the aftermath of a mis-hit, thicker bat handles transfer the least amount of’sting’ to your hands. This makes them extremely pleasant to hold, and their improved shock absorption extends their lifespan. Thicker handles, on the other hand, make it more difficult for the hitter to swing the bat.
Thin Handle: Thinner handles make it easier to swing the bat. That is their only distinguishing feature. Otherwise, they absorb less sting, perform badly in terms of shock absorption, and are equally inadequate in terms of durability when compared to their thicker counterparts.
Manufacturer
The following are some of the most reputable baseball bat manufacturers. They’ve been around for decades, some even more than a century, and their consumers have rarely had cause to complain.
The following are the top baseball bat brands:
- Easton
- Slugger from Louisville
- DeMarini
- Marucci
- Rawlings
League requirements
League per league, the requirements and regulations differ. Some leagues require a logo of an official supplier to be stamped on the bat. This ensures that the bat meets the required specifications for material, barrel size, length, and knob. Before you go out and buy one, be sure you understand all of your league’s regulations.
Check with your coach as well. 1.15 BPF is nearly universally applied to young bats. Bat Performance Factor is abbreviated as BPF. Look for the 1.15 BPF designation on the bat when shopping for the kids.
Baseball bats come in numerous shapes and sizes, and there are plenty of them on the market. Some are designed for professionals, while others are designed for recreational players. There are even unique baseball bats for children.
It’s crucial to know what to buy when there are so many baseball bats to choose from, because it’s pointless to give a child a baseball bat that’s too big or too heavy for them.
Additional Factors To Consider
Buy Youth Baseball Bat
Purchasing the ideal youth baseball bat is a serious problem. You must be determined and have all of the relevant information. Though I’ve covered all of the essentials for selecting a young bat, there are a few extras to consider:
Cost – Some youth baseball bats are so expensive that they will burn a hole in your pocket. Composite bats are a good example of this type of bat. Others, particularly wood and aluminum bats, are often more forgiving of your bank account’s health.
Weather – Did you know that in cold weather, composite bats tend to break down? Or that you shouldn’t keep wood bats in a humid environment? Make sure you know how your bat’s construction material will react in the environment where you plan to store or use it.
Conclusion
Choosing the best youth baseball bat is easier said than done. You have to consider multiple factors, including the parts of a baseball bat, length, weight, drop weight, the size of its barrel, and its handle’s diameter. You then have to make sure that the bat’s specifications meet those that are approved by the league in which your little one intends to play.
This is why we recommend that you keep all the factors mentioned above in your consideration before going for a youth baseball bat. Only then would you be able to get a baseball bat that would be best for your child’s game.
FAQ
Buy Youth Baseball Bat
Q: How do you size a youth baseball bat?
Even though both youth and senior baseball bats fall under Little League; however, there is one factor that separates them both— age-based specifications.
Typically, a Senior League youth baseball bat features a weight drop of -10 while featuring a bigger barrel, making them larger but lighter. This construction makes Senior League youth baseball bats excellent for players ages 13-16 years old.
On the other hand, youth baseball bats feature specifications such as 2” barrel diameter and -7 up to -10 bat drop. Therefore, this type of construction makes them perfect for players ages 7-13 years old.
Q: Why are Marucci bats so popular?
Marucci began his career in a tiny Baton Rouge workshop. Marucci has retained the same degree of artistry and consistency since its inception in 2004, when it took the baseball world by storm. Marucci also includes professional opinion into their products with the support of their Player Advisory Board.
Marucci wood bats are now fit for the major leagues, making them one of the greatest bat providers in the game. Professionals like David Ortiz, Francisco Lindor, and Jose Bautista trust Marucci’s quality, and players can’t go wrong with it.
Q: How do you know if a bat is too heavy?
If a player experiences bat drag, the bat will be too heavy for them to utilize in games. Bat drag occurs when a player is unable to consistently hit the ball on the plate. There is, however, a mechanism that parents can take to prevent this from happening during games.
When purchasing a baseball bat, parents should let their child to hold the bat parallel to the ground for 20 seconds with their arm outstretched. If they can’t keep their grip on the bat for that long, it’s too hefty for them to use.
Q: Do end-loaded bats hit farther?
Because of the larger mass stored within the barrel of end-loaded bats, they hit farther and more powerful compared to balanced bats. However, the former is heavier and harder to swing than the latter. Therefore, we only advise end-loaded bats to power hitters who can handle the higher weight difference compared to balanced bats.