Everything You Need to Know About Sizing Bats for Baseball Players
There are a lot of players, parents, and coaches out there that have trouble sizing bats. With all the choices out there with length, width, diameter, and composition, it can be a daunting task. To start the process of finding a perfectly sized bat, one needs to know the primary objectives when a player is at the plate.
The first objective is contact. When a hitter is in the batter's box, he has to be able to consistently make good contact with the ball. A baseball bat, above all else, must allow the hitter to have the control necessary to consistently hit the ball solidly. If a bat is chosen that causes the batter swing late or it causes him to make poor contact, then the purpose is defeated. A poorly selected bat can easily lead to strikeouts, pop flies, and weak grounders that lead to outs and frustration. The goal is good contact that leads to line drives, solidly hit ground balls, and well hit fly balls in the gaps. Contact is critical.
The second objective is power. Power is what separates a good hitter from a great hitter. If good contact is made, then power will just increase the chance of a base hit because fielders have less reaction time to make a play on hard-hit balls. Power is generated through the conservation of momentum as energy is transferred from the bat to the ball. Momentum is a function of mass and velocity. In simpler terms, the faster you can swing a bat of a given weight, the more power you create. Likewise, the heavier the bat you use at a given bat speed, the more power you create. So for every person, there is an ideal balance of bat weight and bat speed that creates the most power.
Now that you know that contact and power are the two objectives when hitting a baseball, the task of sizing a bat becomes much clearer. Bats should be chosen to maximize your ability to make consistent contact with good power. There are hundreds of different batting guides out there, but the truth is that each bat must be selected taking the individual into consideration.
Many hitters select bats that are either to long or too heavy. This is truly a major error because it can only hurt a player's ability to achieve the primary goals while batting. A smaller bat can help achieve both contact and power at the plate.
Better contact is achieved because a shorter and lighter bat can be better controlled at the plate. If a bat is too big, then it can become unwieldy and it becomes extremely difficult to hit the ball with the sweet spot of the bat.
Better power is achieved because a shorter and lighter bat can increase bat speed. If you remember from above, a bat of a given weight swung at a faster speed increases power.
A common bat selection guide states to use a 24-26" bat for ages 5-7, a 26-28" bat for ages 8-9, a 28-29" bat for age 10, a 30-31" bat for ages 11-12, a 31-32" bat for ages 13-14, a 32-33" bat for ages15-16, and a 32-33" bat for ages 17-18.
To achieve the goals of making good contact with power, it is a good idea to begin with the shortest bat length listed for each age. This will be a great starting place and will likely be the optimal bat size to achieve perfect contact and head-turning power.
About the Author
Dustin Peek is a former player and a true baseball fanatic. He loves helping others succeed in the "great game." Learn about sizing bats and so much more at: http://www.baseballskillscenter.com
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