How To Buy A Baseball Bat
Whether you play Little League baseball or for a college team, buying a bat is a personal decision. New technology has delivered bats that not only enhance performance but also are tailored to an individual player's strengths. It is essential that you select a bat that fits your unique body configuration and skill level--height, weight, and hitting strength.
NOTE THAT LITTLE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL HAS ESTABLISHED AN EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION REQUIRING THAT AS OF 2009 ALL NON-WOOD BATS MUST BE PRINTED WITH A BPF (BAT PERFORMANCE FACTOR) OF 1.15 OR LESS. FCLL WILL BE INTRODUCING THIS REQUIREMENT FOR THE 2009 SEASON, IN ACCORDANCE WITH LITTLE LEAGUE MANDATE.
Understanding bat materials
The world of bats now offers a large variety of choices in materials. These can be broken into three primary categories: aluminum, Graphite/Titanium lined, and wood. Each provides its own unique characteristics and advantages for today's players.
Aluminum
There are some standard rules of thumb in selecting the appropriate bat length. The charts below offer some guidelines based on age and weight and height.
Age
Using your age as a guide, use the chart below to determine the bat length that fits your body
DETERMINE YOUR BAT LENGTH BY AGE |
|
Age |
Bat length |
5-7 years old |
24"-26" |
8-9 years old |
26"-28" |
10 years old |
28"-29" |
11-12 years old |
30"-31" |
13-14 years old |
31"-32" |
15-16 years old |
32"-33" |
17+ years old |
34" |
Height and weight
Determine Your Bat Length by Weight and Height |
||||||||||
|
Your height (inches) |
|||||||||
Your weight (pounds) |
36-40 |
41-44 |
45-48 |
49-52 |
53-56 |
57-60 |
61-64 |
65-68 |
69-72 |
73+ |
Bat length |
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less than 60 |
26" |
27" |
28" |
29" |
29" |
|
|
|
|
|
61-70 |
27" |
27" |
28" |
29" |
30" |
30" |
|
|
|
|
71-80 |
|
28" |
28" |
29" |
30" |
30" |
31" |
|
|
|
81-90 |
|
28" |
29" |
29" |
30" |
30" |
31" |
32" |
|
|
91-100 |
|
28" |
29" |
30" |
30" |
31" |
31" |
32" |
|
|
101-110 |
|
29" |
29" |
30" |
30" |
31" |
31" |
32" |
|
|
111-120 |
|
29" |
29" |
30" |
30" |
31" |
31" |
32" |
|
|
121-130 |
|
29" |
29" |
30" |
30" |
31" |
32" |
33" |
33" |
|
131-140 |
|
29" |
30" |
30" |
31" |
31" |
32" |
33" |
33" |
|
141-150 |
|
|
30" |
30" |
31" |
31" |
32" |
33" |
33" |
|
151-160 |
|
|
30" |
31" |
31" |
32" |
32" |
33" |
33" |
33" |
161-170 |
|
|
|
31" |
31" |
32" |
32" |
33" |
33" |
34" |
171-180 |
|
|
|
|
|
32" |
33" |
33" |
34" |
34" |
180+ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
33" |
33" |
34" |
34" |
Determining the right bat weight
Bat technology may seem a little confusing but it's not rocket-science. There are three essential elements to a bat: barrel size, bat taper and grip.
Barrel size
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