Posted by: skip (piks5@sbcglobal.net) on Fri Sep 28 06:44:46 2007

> > 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.

kllimaks:

Most important thing with minus 3 HS bats: Some are designed with more wght at the end (end loaded). Some are more balanced. And some take wght and put it in the handle. It's easiest to generate the most batspeed with a handle-loaded bat, at the expense of having mass at the contact area. Conversely, it's tougher to generate batspeed with the end-loaded bats, but they provide greater mass at the contact area of the bat.

It's a tradeoff. Different for different hitters. The process of buying the proper minus three bat would be easier if the bat makers indicated on each bat the way the bat has been balanced, ie, it's "swing wght."

The "swing wght" of a 30oz. handle-loaded bat is less than the swing wght of a 30 oz. end-loaded bat.

skip