Posted by: Jim (jwelborn@lexcominc.net) on Sat Nov 5 07:14:30 2005

> > Hi, I read an article on metalwoodbats.com and they said that metal bats like many kids and schools use can mess up your hitting when you want to use a wooden bat. How can that affect your hitting? Also I want to know if I use a standard size barrell instead of a big barrell will this benefit me?
>
> Uh, since you can use metal up until you play pro ball (i.e., through college), I'd guess that it's a little early to worry about messing up your "wood swing". Wood bats are cheap and often are only a couple of bucks at a thrift shop if you want to play around with one. Remember that a wooden bat rarely will have a drop of more than four or five ounces (i.e., a 32 inch bat will weigh at least 28 ounces) where a metal bat can have a drop of 12 ounces, which makes it easier to get around. So, I think you should get your mechanics down with the lighter bat and move up to the heavier one as you get to high school ball.
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> As for the big barrel issue -- I'm assuming you're in a league that allows them. It really depends on your age and strength. My son's league allows them at all levels, and I hate to see skinny 9 year olds carting them up to the plate, because all they can do is punch at the ball and yes, it gets to the outfield, but their swings suck. I just bought my son a "transitional" bat (two-and-five-eights rather than the standard two-and-three-fourth inch barrel bat) to use as a twelve year old next year; until now, he wasn't strong enough to heft a barrel bat.



When a 200 lb. player swings a 34”/31 oz. (-3) bat, the bat’s weight is 0.96% of the total weight of the player and bat. When an 80 lb. player swings a 30”/18 oz. (-12) bat, the bat’s weight is 1.39% of the total weight of the player and bat. In essence, the young player is swinging a bat that in this case is 45% heavier than the adult player when compared to body weight. This affects the physics of swing mechanics and is probably a major cause of bad habits that are developed by youth league players.

In this example, for the bat to body weight ratio to be equal for both players, the young player would need a 30” bat with a weight drop of nearly 18 oz.

The idea of swinging heavier bats is not advisable at least until the high school varsity level for most players. This applies to softball as well as baseball.

Jim