Posted by: PatA (patrick_allison@reyrey.com) on Mon Feb 3 13:16:24 2003

If you look in the catalogs for the manufactors there are of course bats that are anything from a minus11 to minus 3. The same make of bat may be a minus 8 to a minus 3 and obviously are made of the same materials. The endload or thickness of bat wall are the determining factor for wieght. The thinner the wall the easier the bat will dent. The effectiveness of a bat is not determined by how far it will hit but by the athlete using it. A heavier bat in theory will hit the ball further if the bat head speed is not reduced by the weight of the bat. Bathead speed imparts a greater influence on the distance a ball travels then the weight of the bat also remember the bathead speed is greatest at the end of the bat so length of the bat is also a factor.
> > > >
> > > > One of the leading female power hitters in the game told me she swings a 34/27. Since this wasn't offered by her company as a fp bat, I assume she was using the slowpitch bat. Never checked to see if that's legal and didn't ask her what paint scheme/name the factory put on it for her, but if your kid can swing a 34 it might be something to look into.
> > > >
> > > > Mark H.
> > >
> > > Went through the same problem with my daughter. She is not tall enought to swing a 34" bat. The Worth rep gave me the same "we don't make them" story. Basic problem is that there is no market for heavier bats. We've got the chicken and the egg problem or a downward spiral or whatever. Swing mechanics are so bad in fps that only light bats will work. Since everyone is using light bats, there's no need to learn to swing a heavy bat (where you need a 'correct' swing).
> > > Why should Worth spend money making a bat that will sell 100 times in a year? no profit, no point.
> > > However, there are some 'heavier' Worth bats. And I found one - a 32", 23.5 oz fps bat. I'll get the model, etc. tonight.
> >
> > ----
> > Louisiville Slugger makes a 34" 26oz (-8) double wall, XXL bat and a 33"25. XXL or GENtech. These bats are heavier than Worth and have the same (if not more) pop; and they do not dent after the first at bat.
> >
> > There will be a whole lot of girls/coaches who will be very sad if college softball and high school softball has to go to -3 like the boys (you do not hear anybody crying about gender equity on this issue do you?) Simple fact: most girls cannot hit with a -11 or a -9 much less a -3. It's not the bat dummy, it's the batter.
>
> With the state of swing mechanics in girls softball I don't think the -3 will be an issue.


Just went to check on the DeMarini site, they no longer make the fast pitch double wall distance, which you could get in 33", 25 oz. My daughter has a 2002 model, it has proven to be a good weight for her. Now they only make a -11 single wall and the replacement for the -10 distance lite, which they turned into a bottle bat design. Looks like Demo took a serious step backwards in fast pitch.