Posted by: torque (roscoethewestie@comcast.net) on Mon May 25 16:11:49 2009

> > A bat that is too light is very difficult to hit with. Which bat is his 30/19? Wood makes
> you a much better hitter because you have to focus on hitting the sweet spot and he is
> probably concentrating more with the wood. I'd rather hit with a bat that is too heavy. He
> probably has a pretty fast swing and he swings too fast with the aluminum. Good maple
> hits really good. Besides being too light, the aluminum may have a weight distribution
> that doesn't work for him.
> >
> > For a 10YO AAA pitcher the ball is probably exiting the hand at 48 to 52 MPH. Probably
> crossing the plate at 40 to 43. Your son may be swinging 60 to 65.
>
> The better pitchers are throwing 48-50. I throw BP at about 45 most of the time, and can
> throw to him at up to 60 and he has no trouble turning on the ball -- inside pitches hit
> hard left; outside pitches go right, etc.
>
> It's been my *impression* that he simply swings too damned fast with the light bats. He
> just spins himself into the ground, or lets the bat release past his hands at the point of
> contact -- robbing power and missing the sweetspot. He's used a variety of bats, and I
> think his rhythm just works better with a heavier bat. His "crushed" balls have gone about
> 180'. Plenty of kids can hit it farther than that, so he's not some super-batspeed kid.
>
> I guess it's just a feel thing and he likes the heavy feel. Does anybody have a suggestion of
> a metal or composite bat that has a heavier feel than the usual TPX/Easton/DeMarini crop?
> He has to use the Little League rule 2-1/4" bat size and they're all pretty light.

I've never purchased or hit with a 2 1/4" so I don't know. If weight is an issue I'd just hit with the wood. Sam Bat makes some very nice youth wood bats. The 2 5/8 and 2 3/4 gives you so many choices. betterbaseball.com has a huge selection of bats and baseball equipment so you might find something there. Mizuno has been experimenting with bamboo and wood composite materials. They would give you better durability than maple or ash.