Posted by: The Hitting Guru () on Tue Dec 19 22:13:42 2006

> > I'm looking for a new bat for my son, he is 17 years old a junior in high school. He is 6'2" 165lbs. He is use to swinging a 33/30, but in my research from bat sizing charts that he should be using a 34" bat. Does anybody have input on this. I'm concern if I move him upto a 34" bat that he may lose bat speed. Please advise. Any recommendation on a good high school bat would also be appreciated.

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It is possible that your son could lose a small amount of batspeed, but it would probably be made up in bat distance. As we know from lifting objects, the human body adjusts over time. It simply has to get used to the new demands. As such your son will probably at least have a small adjustment period. But if he gets stronger in the meantime or practices with his new bat, he will probably make up the difference quite fast. Ted Williams preached in his video "Batting with Ted Williams" www.raresportsfilms.com that the best way to get quick with the bat and get strong was to swing a heavier bat.

Batspeed is very important in the swing, but the ability to time pitches is probably even more important. A lot of hitters exhibit great batspeed, but pull too many pitches foul. For them it might benefit them to use a heavier bat. Of coursd other things might contribute to any early swing. But as a general rule, one should use the heaviest bat that he can make solid consistent contact with.

Babe Ruth actually conducted a study at a university in which he used a 54 ounce bat. With that bat he had a batspeed or 75 miles per hour. So it is likely that Ruth felt comfortable with that bat and probably used a similar weight during his playing career at least 47 to 50 ounces. Babe also used bats as light as 40 ounces, so his batspeed should have been greater than 75 miles per hour with a significant drop in weight.

Roger Maris also did a study in which he hit batted balls with different weighted bats. It should be noted that Maris was able to hit balls further for distance with each heavier bat he swung. But Maris preferred the lighter model when he hit his record 61 homeruns. Thus, though it is likely that Maris' optimum bat for distance was a higher weight, he hit more effectively with the lighter bats for timing.

Ted Williams also made the transition from heavier 36 ounce bats to bats as light as 32 ounces. It should be noted that it is more likely that when Ted hit .406 it was with a heavier bat. So what works varies according to the hitter and how he happens to be swinging at the time.