Posted by: rob (treborrae@hotmail.com) on Sun May 22 17:06:01 2005

> My son is 12 years old, 5'1", 105 pounds. He has switched back in forth from a 31" bat to 30" and now is using a 30". Does the extra inch make that much of a diference as far as bigger sweet spot? He handles the 30" bat better but I worry about plate coverage. Although as a kid we used 28" wood bats in Little League, our coach wouln't let use us anything bigger because of the the wieght.

The weight issue is not as important as the length issue. Obviously there are diminishing returns as the bat becomes too heavy. Usually with aluminum bats the weight is not the issue since you can get bats that are the same weight but different lengths. The problem is the balance point of longer bats is farther away from the handle making it more difficult to swing. It makes the bat feel heavier than it really is. Say we have a pole the same weight as your sons bat but it is 50 feet long. Imagine how long it would take to get the pole head into the hitting zone versus the 30" or 28" bat...a long time. I hope this helps. My 7 year old uses a 24" bat and hit .612 but can't hit a lick with a bat 3" longer and 1 ounce heavier. It's a matter of physics.
Rob