16 replies to this topic

[plusbrians]

What does everyone use? I myself have gone relatively basic the past year or two (DeMarini Ultimate Weapon), but am in the market for a new one.

Ours have to be single wall, and I need some pop in mine, as I'm fairly small, and might hit the wall on a couple hops if I'm lucky!

I'm thinking of a 34"/26oz -

[Rsox4life]

Miken Freak 98 is what I use and love...Bat is very broken in now and has held up over time well

[plusbrians]

Aren't Miken's banned by almost any league that has anything to do with ASA?

[phrenile]

Aren't Miken's banned by almost any league that has anything to do with ASA?

Some Miken models are banned, but some are approved. Freak 98 is one of the approved ones.

You may be thinking of MSF Freak, which is banned.

[Rsox4life]

The 98 should be good in most leagues and is often considered a grandfather bat...you can find them on ebay pretty easy...prices have gone up though as they continue to change bat rules

[sodenj5]

I use a Easton OG Synergy Flex and a Demarini The One. The OG Synergys are a bit pricey, due to the fact that a lot of people like them, and they're no longer manufactured by Easton. The One is a really really good ASA bat, and they're pretty readily available.

[PortlandSoxFan]

I'm not sure if the Demarini One is the same Demarini bat we've broken about 5 of in the past 2 years (it looks the same in the picture), but if so...we've broken about 5 in the past 2 years. And they only replace them once.

[sodenj5]

I'm not sure if the Demarini One is the same Demarini bat we've broken about 5 of in the past 2 years (it looks the same in the picture), but if so...we've broken about 5 in the past 2 years. And they only replace them once.

It's a 2010 bat, and just came out last summer, so I don't think that would be it.

[ThreeIfBaerga]

I run a league and, in the interest of reducing the chances of disputes, we banned all Miken bats.

It's amazing the lengths people will go to in order to play with an illegal bat. Sanding them down, painting them, bashing them against telephone poles. I still don't quite understand what that last thing does but it gives it an amazing amount of pop.

[SoxFanInCali]

Once the outer coating of the bat is broken down a bit, it increases the spring of the bat against the ball. That's why you hear people refer to "breaking in" the bat.

I'll see people going through a couple of bats a season, because they are looking to always use a broken in bat. The problem is, once the bat is broken in, it is more likely to crack, especially in cold weather.

As a pitcher who is standing only 50 feet away from the 280 pound guys swinging doctored illegal bats, I wish they would just go back to wood.

[ThreeIfBaerga]

As a pitcher who is standing only 50 feet away from the 280 pound guys swinging doctored illegal bats, I wish they would just go back to wood.

That's what crazy. Even with "legal" bats, I feel like the pitchers and, to a lesser extent 3B, are facing an enormous amount of danger standing in there.
Over the last several years, I've seen a lot of pitchers get pretty severe injuries.

The fact that there are assholes out there who ignore the huge safety risks to others, all just to get a little extra pop on their bat, is unconscionable.

[Sooner Steve]

as a pitcher i am quite sure that there is a direct correlation to the lack of length of a player's penis and the lengths that same player will go to in order to play w/an illegal bat...i'd love for our leagues here to go to wood bats - in the interim i continue to see more pitchers countering by wearing hockey style catcher's masks while taking the bump

[PortlandSoxFan]

It's a 2010 bat, and just came out last summer, so I don't think that would be it.

We first got some at the very end of the 2008 season, broke them....broke their replacements, 1 new one and ITS replacement in 2009. So unless they really, really improved...I'm skeptical.

[Alcohol&Overcalls]

We first got some at the very end of the 2008 season, broke them....broke their replacements, 1 new one and ITS replacement in 2009. So unless they really, really improved...I'm skeptical.

You might be thinking of the original Juggernaut, which was an 08 bat and had some significant durability problems in some runs. We broke a few (usually, the barrel piece would "spiral" from the handle - the composite would almost burst). It's a big problem in cooler weather, in particular.

Currently, in our composite leagues, I hit a 27oz Freak98 that has a couple thousands hits on it, and a 27FL Combat Anti-Virus that's just breaking in. In our single-wall/metal-only coed league, I have 2 DeMarini Vexxums (which is allowed because it's a single-wall barrel, even though it's a 2-piece), one in 28oz and a fastpitch model in 24oz that some of the women use, and a Louisville Slugger Ritch's Superior CU31 28oz.

If you're looking for awesome single-wall bats, the Ritch's Superior are great ones, but they're pretty hard to find - they haven't been made in like 12 years. The other "best" single-wall bats people usually talk about include the Anderson Rockettech and Pyrotech (which are total tanks), Worth Carl Rose Supercells, DeMarini Ultimate Weapons, and the like. If allowed, the old Easton Reflex C- and Z-Cores are great bats too, and total tanks.

[Bongorific]

I play on a men's quick pitch team (can't windwill, throw as hard as you can without raising your arm past parallel to the ground). I've played baseball through high school, but never played competitive softball until last year so I'm unfamiliar with the equipment. What's the difference between "breaking-in" and "breaking" a softball bat? Our team purchased 3 bats and I've been using the Demarini 375 . After our first game it already has a huge dent where someone hit a ball between the handle and the barrel (near where the D logo is). Another guy on our team said it's very common for softball bats to have a ton of dents over the course of the season, but I would think this would create an uneven hitting surface. So is our bat breaking in, or did we just break it requiring a return?

Edited by Bongorific, 28 April 2010 - 02:40 PM.

[Alcohol&Overcalls]

I play on a men's quick pitch team (can't windwill, throw as hard as you can without raising your arm past parallel to the ground). I've played baseball through high school, but never played competitive softball until last year so I'm unfamiliar with the equipment. What's the difference between "breaking-in" and "breaking" a softball bat? Our team purchased 3 bats and I've been using the Demarini 375 . After our first game it already has a huge dent where someone hit a ball between the handle and the barrel (near where the D logo is). Another guy on our team said it's very common for softball bats to have a ton of dents over the course of the season, but I would think this would create an uneven hitting surface. So is our bat breaking in, or did we just break it requiring a return?

The 375 is a metal barrel with a composite handle (I believe) - softball bats can be made of two materials: alloy, or a composite (carbon-fiber-type) material.

Aluminum bats require essentially no break-in time (some exceptions exist, such as those with a composite handle may require a little time, or 2-piece bats). Dents in an alloy bat are a bad thing for certain - they reduce structural integrity, and can affect performance (the 'flex' when the ball meets bat, is designed with a fully-round barrel in mind).

If the dent is bad enough, it's grounds for a return. If it's an ASA/ISA/USSSA league, eventually the dents will cause the bat to fail the ring test and it'll be ineligible for play. Dents tend to lead to more dents, as the bat is compromised - Demarinis aren't known for durability, particularly in cold weather, but they're great with returns.

"Breaking in" a bat refers to how composite bats actually require hits on them to reach full performance levels. The composite material "stretches", cracks, and etc. to create a higher batted-ball speed off the bat as it is used. Bats have wildly different break-in periods - many Mikens or LS Catalysts take a thousand or more hits, whereas many Combats (or the new-standard ASA Eastons) take a handful. Essentially, every hit with a composite will increase how "hot" the bat is, up until the bat breaks, but many players feel there is a 'threshold' where the bat shows marked improvement - that's the "break-in" point. Whether this is true or not, there is no doubt that composites (excluding new-standard ASA bats) will improve performance over time.

In short, aluminum bats don't "break in" in the traditional sense - the only way dents are good for performance is if they create enough of a flat spot to give an (illegal) advantage. Think cricket bat.

Hope that helps?

[Bongorific]

The 375 is a metal barrel with a composite handle (I believe) - softball bats can be made of two materials: alloy, or a composite (carbon-fiber-type) material...
Hope that helps?

Thanks a lot for the info AO. We'll keep an eye on it and see if it needs a return at some point.