Posted by: Ira (ijehrlich@aol.com) on Tue Aug 19 11:24:35 2003

I've read that some bat models may be more suited for line drives and other more suited for long ball. I'm very confused about the relationship of the barrel size to the taper of the barrel to the handle size. What type of hitting is the 110 good for? The 271, 243, 141? I'd rather hit line drives than long ball. I use a 33" bat, with wgts varing from -4 to -2.
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> > > Thank you,
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> > > Ira Ehrlich
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> If you already have a line drive mentality and have good bat control the lighter bat should give you the best results in achieving your line drives. If you prefer a heavier bat then just choke up a bit and you can achieve the same results. As far as individual bat makeup goes, your own personal comfort is the key. Sometimes you may pickup a bat that feels good and or gives you the desired results. That is for the most part strictly up to the hitter. Barry Bonds is probably the only consistent power hitter that chokes up. (see Bernie Williams) He has great bat control and many of his homeruns are actually extended line drives. Bonds most likely could hit homeruns further if he did not choke up (lose some line drives in the process) but would lose some consistency (hit fewer homeruns) as a result. If per chance your team needed a homerun I would suggest going to a heavier model and choking up slightly. That way you could keep most of your bat control, but have extra mass by which you could extend your line drive hit. (Another key is to look for a pitch that you could drive and be quick with the bat.) Good luck!
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> > A bat is a bat. I don't see how a bat can be designed to hit homeruns or line drives. If that were true, wouldn't every major leaguer hit 50 homers per season? Where did you read this info from, and what proof do they have that what they say is true?

Hitting Guru - Thank you. The comments about a particular bat being good for line drives came from a bat maker (www.probat.net). They pointed out that two of their models are good selections for -3 or -4 wgt (PB115/PB350). They also said they're good for line drive hitting. This seems to tie to your comment about a lighter bat.
Ira