One of the amazing things about parents is their ability to provide for their kids. There is no limit to the extent a parent will go for the well-being of a child. This truth is evident in the fact that you are reading this article. So I applaud you for unselfishly taking the time to learn something that you can pass on to your children as an investment in their athletic future. Not only do I want to applaud you, but I also want to help relieve some pressure that some of you may be feeling.
You don’t have to buy the most expensive bat for your child! More expensive does not mean better, and it certainly does not equate to “providing for them”. I understand the pressure of “keeping up with the Jones”. For example, you may have heard your son come home and go on-and-on about the new bat Billy got and how cool and expensive it is. The “new bat day” with youngsters is kind of how adults get when a friend or neighbor gets a new car. You may ask yourself, “Maybe I need a better one now?”
The top of the line aluminum bats can cost in the range of $400! Is the best and newest bat really worth a car payment? You may rationalize the sticker shock with “I want to provide the best for my child.” However, I argue against that notion and hope that you do not feel obligated to make such an investment. Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying, nor am I qualified, to tell you how to spend your money. I just want to challenge the notion that more expensive is better.
In certain cases, I will argue the opposite. Some of the more expensive Little League bats are -13. That means that a 30 inch bat will weigh only 17 oz. Over time bats have become lighter and lighter due to the new technologies and materials that bat companies utilize. These new technologies come with a price tag that I am sure you have felt at the register. Here lies the problem: we tend to buy the best. The best is generally associated with price. Price is set by the manufacturer. Therefore I have this question: does the bat company really know what is best for your child? Their expertise is creating the next years shinier and more expensive model, not in the development your child’s swing. (I am not anti-bat company. I am just trying to shake things up a bit).
Is a lighter bat really better for a youngster? After all, everybody has heard that you want quick bat speed. This is true, but just putting a lighter and lighter bat in the hands of a growing, developing ball player could actually hinder his or her development. It can delay the development of hand and forearm strength and can produce bad habits in a young player’s swing. A light bat can also be a problem in that it doesn’t have enough mass (weight) to redirect the baseball without much of that force being absorbed by the young player. That is physics. The ball doesn’t ever get lighter so when bats gets too light the force behind a player’s swing is also less. There are many power hitters in the Big Leagues who use -1 or -0. Meaning they use a 35 inch 35 oz bat. They choose this weight because lighter doesn’t mean better, and it can actually mean worse. What initially sounded like a good idea actually can have negative side effects. So guess what. If you pay a little less for a bat that is not ultra-light, you may actually be providing for your child more effectively. The bottom line is this. More expensive is not better and lighter is not better.
The key is to find a bat that a player can swing and feels good, not just the lightest possible. The final reason that a lighter bat in not always best is the feel. A player needs to be able to feel the bat and where the barrel head is. If the bat is too light, they won’t be able to feel the bat or what is going on in the swing. A bat with some ‘meat’ on it can be much more helpful for a young player because they can feel the bat, it will develop muscles, and it will actually apply more force to the pitch.
Extra credit. Now I make one more challenge and offer one last suggestion. Imagine investing the same amount of money that the newest, latest and greatest bat would cost, into quality instructional hitting lessons and camps. Four hundred dollars could get you a lot of great one-on-one instruction that truly has the ability to take a child to the next level. The real improvement will come from hard work and sweat, not from the the biggest price tag at the sporting good store.
I recommend for players who are 12 years old and older to begin supplementing wood bats in batting practice. I will expand more on this idea in the next article, but I will leave you with this. Wood bats improve strength, hand eye coordination (smaller sweet spot), and better swing mechanics. How can a bat improve mechanics? When the bat is heavier, it makes a hitter more efficient and teaches them how to have rhythm in their swing. The key is to get a wood bat that is heavy enough to be a challenge without being so heavy that they will hurt themselves.
