Baseball was a very young sport in the mid-eighteen hundreds, so batters usually made their own bats. This led to a lot of experimentation with the shape and size of the baseball bat. It didn’t take long for players to learn that the best bats were those with rounded barrels. With all the shapes and sizes being used, some rule had to be established about the bat. In 1859, it was established that baseball bats could be no larger than two and a half inches in diameter, though they could be any length. After ten years, a restriction of 42 inches was put on the length of the baseball bat, but still no regulations governing the shape.

1884: The Louisville Slugger is Born

Baseball bat’s most popular name, still to this day, is the Louisville Slugger. Seventeen-year-old John Hillerich watched Pete Browning break his bat at an 1884 Louisville game. John observed as Pete Browning got frustrated, and after the game offered to make him a new bat. Pete Browning joined John Hillerich at his father’s woodworking shop, where Pete supervised the construction of his new bat. Browning went three for three with his new bat. Word spread quickly, but not as quickly as the demand did once everyone knew about these bats. It wasn’t long before each baseball bat that John and his father constructed was slapped with the famous Louisville Slugger trademark.

Evolution of Regulations

In the 1890s, bats could no longer be flat at the end, according to the rules committee. They increased the diameter by a quarter of an inch as well, making the maximum diameter two and three quarters of an inch. In the early nineteen hundreds, one of the greatest players, Honus Wagner, was the first player paid to have his name burned into Louisville Slugger bats. Despite the continual evolution of the regulations regarding the size and shape of bats, the bats of today look much like the ones of a hundred years ago, the biggest difference being that today’s bats are much lighter and have thinner handles.

The Rise of Aluminum

William Shroyer patented the first metal baseball bat in 1924, though they were not seen in baseball until introduced by Worth in 1970. Worth soon produced the first aluminum one-piece bat, and the first little league aluminum bat. Easton introduced a much stronger bat in the late ’70s . These skyrocketed the popularity of aluminum bats, though they were not allowed in major league games. In 1993, both Easton and Worth introduced titanium bats, and in 1995 Easton and Louisville Slugger introduced the lightest grade of aluminum bats available to date. Continuing developments include double walled bats, and scandium-aluminum bats.

No matter what kind of baseball bat a player uses today, the sport remains one of the world’s favorites. Not many can resist the sunny days and cool nights in the stands, with the cracking sound, fans on their feet, and the smell of hot dogs in the air.



By: Billy Beansprout

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Whether you want a traditional wood baseball bat or a new, high-tech metal bat, there is a wide selection of discount baseball bats available. A baseball bat is a vital piece of equipment and its quality can greatly impact a player’s performance, so it is no surprise that many people are willing to pay a premium. Luckily, you can get a high-tech, top quality bat at discount prices. Discount baseball bats are available at most sporting equipment outlets, and especially at online stores.

Brand new aluminum baseball bats cost usually start at $200 and go up from there. Prices increase as technology introduces stronger and lighter materials. By crafting baseball bat barrels with cutting-edge metal alloys, manufacturers like Easton and Demarini arm batters with power while maintaining a quick, lightweight feel.

Discount baseball bats are abundantly available online. In many cases, online stores can offer discount baseball bats at great prices because there is less overhead than at a sporting goods store and, in many cases, there is no sales tax or shipping charged. When you shop for baseball bats online you have access to a vast and easily accessible selection user product reviews to help you get a feel for which bats are best for you, and also can save a great deal of time.

Don’t forget to check out blemished baseball bats. This little secret can save you 30 to 70 percent. Many baseball bat dealers offer blemished baseball bats at severely slashed prices due to a cosmetic imperfection such as chipped paint. Lucky for you, the baseball bat’s performance is untouched, but the price is hacked down significantly. Blemished baseball bats are available at many outlets and online. With a little looking, it is not that difficult to find a bat that offers premium performance at a reasonable price.

So, How Can I Choose The Right Baseball Bat?

This years’ baseball season is here and parents I understand how you feel. It almost as if you’re buying a new baseball bat every year, especially if you have younger kids playing that are literally growing right out of their equipment right before your eyes. When it comes to purchasing a new baseball bat though, it can really wear on you when it comes time to pull out your wallet. It’s understandable; these aluminum baseball bats nowadays are very pricey. It then becomes that much more important to choose the right baseball bat.

The quality is there if you consider the amount of use you can get out of an aluminum baseball bat. Most aluminum baseball bats will last through a rigorous season of many practices and games, but some are a better bang for your buck than others. The big question is which bat to get? There are so many makes and models to choose from that it is not always an easy decision. Of course you will be looking for a bat that suits every need. It has to be a bat that is a controllable size and feels comfortable. The bat should be very responsive and most importantly it should last.

How do you know you have covered all of these points? By doing some research and perhaps a little ‘trial and error,’ you will find the best bat to buy. See if your child can ask a teammate to swing their bat a few times to see what an appropriate size is. If they can somehow actually hit with it a few times, that’s even better.

Try and notice how much ‘pop’ some of your top choices are when others are using them. Obviously if a particular bat works for one person, it doesn’t guarantee the same results for the next person. It is just another way of getting an idea. You can certainly ask around or look for sources offering baseball bat reviews that will discuss the components of the bats and give reviews about the durability and expected performance. Most websites with reviews will have Louisville Slugger, Demarini, Rawlings, and Easton baseball bat reviews because they are the more common bat makers.



By: Jeffrey Fang

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A good baseball bat can hit a good homerun and win an entire game. So it’s no wonder that players demand premium baseball bats. But great baseball bats don’t always have to be expensive! While a high-end bat can go for over $100 easily, there are discount baseball bats that cost as little as $20!

A well-kept secret is that unused, quality baseball bats are drastically discounted if they are merely blemished! These discount baseball bats are hard to find sometimes, but they usually sell at a typical baseball bat dealer and are an awesome investment. You can be swinging a superior baseball bat without having to pay the same prices as other batters.

You can easily find other kinds of discount baseball bats too. The best place to start looking is on the web. This is because there is less overhead for online stores. But there is plenty of sporting equipment outlets (like Easton) that have them as well.

Picking out the perfect baseball bat is a complicated and personal process for the serious baseball player, but that does not mean that there is not money to be saved. On the other hand, there are very specific advantages to getting discount baseball bats. You wouldn’t want to wear out your lucky $200 bat on just practice. In the long run it’s much better to use cheap baseball bats as disposable sports instruments while you practice. An added advantage to this is that you underwhelming yourself by practicing with cheap baseball bats. Just imagine your batting precision and power when using your money bat after all that practicing with disposable bats!



By: Jeremy Tang

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Softball bats were at one time made chiefly of wood, but advances in technology have introduced materials such as aluminum, graphite, and composites. Each material has its positive and unique features.

Wood: Wood softball bats are very rare but are slowly regaining favor with softball enthusiasts who would rather hear a whack and not a ping when the bat meets ball. A wood softball bat is bottle-shaped and can weigh between 32-35 ounces (around 8 ounces heavier than an aluminum bat). Traditionally, wood bats have been made from ash. However, ash is light and soft and bats made from ash tend to splinter and dent fast. Wood from maple, oak, and bamboo is also used for these bats. Maple is harder and its grain is denser as compared to ash, making it less susceptible to splintering and chafing. Bats made from Chinese bamboo are the closest wood bat equivalent of an aluminum bat. Bamboo is extremely light-weight and ha a tensile strength higher than that of steel.

Aluminum: The increased research and engineering in the science of bat making has resulted in high-tech aluminum softball bats that can cost upward of $300. Aluminum bats are lighter thereby enabling batters to generate greater bat speed and control. They are stronger and more durable than wood bats and they do not break; however, they may dent or crack over a period of time. Aluminum bats are available in different alloy and weight combinations. Light aluminum alloys that are thinner are more resilient and provide a larger hitting zone or “sweet spot”. Aluminum bats are made in single-layer and double-layer combinations; double-layer bats are used by the power-hitters.

Graphite/Titanium lined: Aluminum bats are lined with graphite or titanium. These light, durable, and strong materials are added to aluminum bats with thin walls in order to make the bats lighter. Lighter bats help batters to generate more power in their swing. Bats lined with graphite or titanium have a greater hitting zone or “sweet spot”. These materials are shock-absorbent as well and aid in reducing the shock felt when a stroke is mistimed.

Composite materials: Bats made from composite materials such as carbon, glass, or Kevlar are light weight, rigid, and sturdy. Composite materials enable bat manufacturers to incorporate varying strengths and stiffness in different parts of a bat. The result is a bat with stiff bat handles for greater control, low stiffness hitting areas for better performance and reduced shock, and differentiated swing weights. Bats made from composite materials have a large hitting surface with a more pronounced “sweet spot”. However, the extreme velocities at which the ball rebounds off the bat can pose a safety hazard to the pitcher who has to react in a very limited time.

Softball Bats That Are Prohibited

If your league is anything like most leagues in Colorado, you probably receive a list of illegal bats at the beginning of each softball season. Maybe the list is handed out at your manager’s meeting, or maybe it is posted on your softball league’s website, either way, you need to be conscience of that list when selecting a bat.

Why are there illegal bats?

There are two main reasons that softball leagues issue illegal bat lists. The first is for the protection of the players, mainly the pitcher. Every day the bat companies are inventing new technologies that are equipping players essentially with bats that more resemble artillery launchers than traditional softball bats. This puts the pitcher, in particular in danger. Depending on your league rules, the pitcher will be around 40-50 feet from the mound after the release. (Also, depending on your league rules, the pitcher may be 4 or 5 beers into the evening after the release).

The strength of some of the players, combined with the new technology of the bats put the pitcher in a very precarious position as a line drive comes scream towards his/her head. And don’t forget the pitcher isn’t the only one who should be concerned for their safety, infielders, particularly third base and shortstop, when righties are up, and second base and first base, with lefties, also can get quite a lump on the noggin from a hot shot off some of these enhanced technology bats.

The second reason behind issuing illegal bats is fairness of play. Recreational softball should not be won by the team that can pay the most for bats, and rest assured the newer the technology, the higher the price.

Recreational softball is played by millions so that they can go out and have fun for an hour or so a week. If a team is plunking homerun after homerun into the lake on the other side of the fence, the game will get tedious and boring. Restricting the power behind the bats, will keep more balls in the park and make the game more fun for both teams.

These are the two main reasons that recreational softball leagues issue an illegal bat list. Before you purchase a bat, make sure you check the illegal bat list for your league.



By: Jeffrey Fang

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You can see them all around the Softball park, swinging their bats, hitting at imaginary targets and sometimes practicing at objects, improving their strength all the time. The force behind the swing of the batters can be tremendous. The truth is, it is not the strength behind the swing that only matters. It is also the kind of bat one uses.

How to pick the right bat?

The Length

To pick the correct bat length, the bat should be long enough to reach your wrist when you are standing straight with arms on your size. With the tip of the bat touching the ground to your wrist will very most likely the most comfortable bat length that you can pick.

The Weight

Every softball player has his own individual requirement especially when it comes to carrying out weights. The rule of the thumb when picking the correct bat weight is to try out the bat first. See if the player can swing the bat comfortably and control the swing with both hands without strain. The bat has to be the heaviest that the player can swing without loss of speed. If the bat does not fall into these categories, look for another one. It does not matter if the bat chosen is the most expensive and the most beautifully crafted with the most advanced material. If the player will be sacrificing these, the player will only be having a good top of the line, technically crafted bat. You can not say that for his swings.

Whatever the case, always take a bat that is light. Lighter bats can be swung faster and the resulting distance could be farther.

Having said that, here are ways to pick legal bats.

Advancement in technology has created bats where the softball bats can fit and be comfortably swung by players of all ages and built. Even the less technically proficient can today, swing the softball bat and hit the ball at speeds that can pose a serious problem with the pitcher and the infielders. Technically advanced bats can also ruin the game, as players would rely more and more on the more expensive multiple alloys instead of having fun and developing the skill. For these reasons, many softball organizations started banning specific bats and having guidelines for softball bat specifications. Some of these standards are:

The BTF or the Bat Performance Factor has to be 1.20 certified.

The Ball to Exit Ratio has to have a 97-MPH BESR on a normally thrown pitch.

The bats must have a smooth safety grip not just tapes.

The ideal softball bat in the hands of a good player translates to the game Americans love. To prepare for a good batting positions here are a few suggestions:

Loosen up. Twist back and forth, bend up and down, do a stationary jog, do anything to loosen up the muscles. If you have a good bat speed, fluidity in movement will give you the power.

Use a carbon based softball bat. Carbons perform better than aluminum.

When you are batting, distribute your weight on both feet. When the ball is in the level between your shoulders and your chest, hit it. Hitting the ball in that position is just giving it another direction. The power that you smash it with will give it the distance.



By: Robert Thatcher

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One of the toughest athletic feats is to hit a round ball with a round bat squarely. Hitting a softball requires exquisite eye/hand coordination and trained muscle memory. You need both of these factors working for you if you are to improve your ability to hit a softball. Don’t forget, the pitcher doesn’t throw the ball with the intention of letting the batter tee off on the pitch. The pitcher adds to the degree of difficulty by using skills to make the ball move, and to throw to spots where the hitter has the least chance of hitting it well. 

With proper instruction and youth softball batting tips and drills, players can develop the skills to become adept batters. There are three key elements to softball batting: stance, stride and bat selection. 

• Stance and Stride – Youngsters will naturally pick up a bat in the way that feels most comfortable to them. They will put left hand over right hand on the bat to swing as a left-handed batter, and with right hand over left to be a right-handed batter. From both sides of the plate, one of the key youth softball batting tips is to be comfortable at the plate. Since home plate is 17 inches in diameter, softball hitters need to stand close enough to the plate to cover the outside corner of the plate. Upon the release of the pitch, softball hitters need to move their front foot forward in the direction of the pitcher while simultaneously keeping their weight on the back foot. Batters then swing the bat forward with their hands and attempt to make square contact with the softball on the sweet part of the bat about three inches from the top end. Batting tips can be reinforced through batting drills either with a batting machine or with live pitching. 

• Bat Selection – Youth softball instruction does not emphasize enough the importance of bat selection. One of the most important youth softball batting tips one can offer is for coaches and parents to allow their players, sons or daughters, to select a bat for themselves. They are the ones that must swing the bat at a ball propelled to home plate in an attempt to make them miss. The bat must be long enough to cover the outside corner of the plate, and light enough for the batter to handle the speed of the pitch. It is no surprise the youth softball hitters will sometimes switch bats in order to adjust to the different pitchers and their velocity. 

Here are other key youth softball batting tips: 

• Don’t Squeeze the Bat too hard – This will only slow down your bat speed.

 • Keep your Eyes on the Ball – When the pitcher winds up, watch the ball at all times, and don’t be distracted by the pitcher’s wind-up. 

• React, Don’t Think – When you are in the batter’s box, react to the pitch. Think about your mechanics when you are on the on deck circle waiting to hit, not when you are in the batter’s box. 

If you follow these youth softball batting tips and practice hard, you will become the best softball hitter that you can be! 

Finding the right softball drills for you: 

Not all drills are appropriate for a 10 year old, and those that are may be too basic for a 16 year old. While you can find a wealth of softball drills scattered throughout the Internet, the key is to find a large library that lets you focus on your key skill (pitching drills, batting drills, hitting drills, fielding drills, etc.) and find the ones that are appropriate for your age group. If you spend some time looking for them, you can find videos, written instructions and even 3D animations that can be helpful.

At Weplay, we have collected and categorized such a library and have also highlighted several partners that similarly do a good job of teaching softball drills. Find the ones that are best for you and your team whether on Weplay or throughout the Internet and your practices will be much more productive.



By: Trevor Sumner

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Take a boy to the ball field and guess what he will pick up for the first time… a glove or a bat? Right. Just about everybody who plays baseball, or who ever thought of playing baseball, loves to bat. Some players have the gift of being “born” hitters; that is, they are blessed with excellent eyesight, quick reflexes, strong wrists and husky shoulders. These players usually become the better batters, but that does not mean the average player with normal build and strength cannot become a moderately successful batter.

Selecting a Bat – Take a bat and swing it. If it feels “good” and is not too heavy or not too light, try it out. Do not use a bat that is too long, stay away from a bat that is too short. To help you select the right type of bat, remember that the average school player uses one that is about thirty-four inches long. Also, the weight of the bat is equal to one ounce for each inch. Thus a 34-34 bat, in length and weight, is just about average.

Stance – Many batters approach the plate and do not know how close, or how far, to stand from the plate. Some batters wonder whether they should stand in front of the batter’s box, others cannot decide whether it is best to place their feet to the rear of the batter’s box. None of this is important in the learning stage of batting, but what is important is that the batter makes himself comfortable at the plate.

When a batter takes his stance, he is taking one of three stances: the parallel stance, the closed stance, the open stance. Each stance has its advantages, but the batter who feels most comfortable in any of the three should use that particular stance.

Again, just which stance to assume is strictly a matter of choice and comfort. However, the more advanced player may, on occasion, switch stances according to the type of pitcher he is facing, or the situation in the game.

In the closed stance only the front foot (the left if a right-handed batter, the right if a left-handed batter) is closer to the plate.

In the parallel stance both feet are the same distance from the inside batter’s box line closest to the plate.

Spread – The spread of the feet is also a matter of individual taste. Some batters prefer to keep their feet close together thus making for a longer stride when swinging at the pitch. Others will take a medium spread, thus shortening the stride; and there are some batters who will take a wide spread and therefore cut down their stride to a minimum.

The average hitter normally spreads his feet about seventeen to nineteen inches and many coaches recommend this spread distance. The power hitter, however, will use a shorter spread since he gets most of his strength from a longer stride. Joe DiMaggio had just about the widest of all spreads and his stride was one of the shortest. But the average batter should not attempt to imitate great batters in spread and stride unless he feels comfortable doing it.

It is not good for the beginning player to take too close a spread because it may cause a lunge in the stride. The stride should be smooth and quick, therefore the proper spread is most important.

Grip – Just as in choosing a bat, taking a stance and assuming a spread, comfort dictates, for the most part, just how to grip the bat. Some batters keep their hands together; others may leave a bit of space between the hands when gripping the bat. No matter what type of grip, hands together or apart, the bat is not to be gripped too tightly.

By keeping the fingers securely, but not tightly, around the bat and the fingers aligned on the bat, the batter can get a better snap of the wrists when meeting the ball. Grip a bat too tightly and the arm muscles automatically tighten up thus permitting no wrist action.

Grasp these basics of baseball batting, and you will be off to a great start.



By: Jimmy Cox

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Softball bats were at one time made chiefly of wood, but advances in technology have introduced materials such as aluminum, graphite, and composites. Each material has its positive and unique features.

Wood: Wood softball bats are very rare but are slowly regaining favor with softball enthusiasts who would rather hear a whack and not a ping when the bat meets ball. A wood softball bat is bottle-shaped and can weigh between 32-35 ounces (around 8 ounces heavier than an aluminum bat). Traditionally, wood bats have been made from ash. However, ash is light and soft and bats made from ash tend to splinter and dent fast. Wood from maple, oak, and bamboo is also used for these bats. Maple is harder and its grain is denser as compared to ash, making it less susceptible to splintering and chafing. Bats made from Chinese bamboo are the closest wood bat equivalent of an aluminum bat. Bamboo is extremely light-weight and ha a tensile strength higher than that of steel.

Aluminum: The increased research and engineering in the science of bat making has resulted in high-tech aluminum softball bats that can cost upward of $300. Aluminum bats are lighter thereby enabling batters to generate greater bat speed and control. They are stronger and more durable than wood bats and they do not break; however, they may dent or crack over a period of time. Aluminum bats are available in different alloy and weight combinations. Light aluminum alloys that are thinner are more resilient and provide a larger hitting zone or “sweet spot”. Aluminum bats are made in single-layer and double-layer combinations; double-layer bats are used by the power-hitters.

Graphite/Titanium lined: Aluminum bats are lined with graphite or titanium. These light, durable, and strong materials are added to aluminum bats with thin walls in order to make the bats lighter. Lighter bats help batters to generate more power in their swing. Bats lined with graphite or titanium have a greater hitting zone or “sweet spot”. These materials are shock-absorbent as well and aid in reducing the shock felt when a stroke is mistimed.

Composite materials: Bats made from composite materials such as carbon, glass, or Kevlar are light weight, rigid, and sturdy. Composite materials enable bat manufacturers to incorporate varying strengths and stiffness in different parts of a bat. The result is a bat with stiff bat handles for greater control, low stiffness hitting areas for better performance and reduced shock, and differentiated swing weights. Bats made from composite materials have a large hitting surface with a more pronounced “sweet spot”. However, the extreme velocities at which the ball rebounds off the bat can pose a safety hazard to the pitcher who has to react in a very limited time.



By: Samuel Johnston

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The fact of wood bats is that any one of them can be shattered. Nevertheless, with some awareness and the right bat, they have been known to last a long, long time. The first thing to do to cut down breakage is to appreciate that the placement of the trademark is not by accident. As no two trees are identically, no two bats are similar either. The trademark is placed on a space, which has the greatest chance of failing. The exact opposite side of the trademark is also a place where bats will more likely to fail too. Take a close look and you will see how the grain runs and why this is true. So the simple rule of prevention here is’ Bat with LABEL UP OR LABEL DOWN.

The old time professional wood bats were the size of a red wood tree. They weighed as much as five men could handle and could knock down a block wall with one whack. Dominant men like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb wielded these manly bats with a talent and exactness that no modern day baseball pro could ever dream to have.

Then again, Ruth and Cobb didn’t have hurlers that registered triple-digit with their fastballs. They didn’t face the advanced and near magical pitching approach of the Braves bullpen or the Yankees superstars. Today’s batters want to fight fire with fire, and so the technology behind today’s professional bats has to match the velocity and motion of today’s professional pitchers.

Superstar hitters like Derek Jeter and Scott Rolen rely on the best professional wood bats out there to give them a shot. Compared to the mythic sluggers of baseball golden days, today’s batters trust in lighter weight bats that also have thinner handles.

True current science comes into the way that many of today’s bats are cup balance. This involves removing as much as three-quarters of an ounce of wood out of the end of the barrel to make the bat lighter. A lighter bat means a faster swing, and a faster swing means a farther drive. Experts estimate that as many as 30 percent of today’s players use a cup balanced bat.

Today’s professional wood bats mostly come from wood from the white ash tree. Some players, though, have been experimenting with wood from maple trees. No matter the tree or the amount of wood they spoon out, though, today’s batters still have to be able to have the hand quickness, touch, know-how, and vision to make that contact. Bats can only help you out so much, even if they are as big as a red wood.

With wood, it usually takes a bit more to get the bat through the contact zone, so start your swing earlier (sooner). This is great training for numerous reasons; one being that you’ll be even quicker with your aluminum bat!



By: William Smith

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