| When you step up to the plate,
you want to be swinging the best baseball bat in town. You want to know
that when you stare that pitcher down, step in, and make contact, that
ball is headed for a different area code! Or maybe you're more of a
slapper with a high batting average, looking for perfect short shots to
the gaps. Either way, you need high quality gear to take the power from
your arms, shoulders, hips, and legs, and put it all into the ball. You
need a great baseball bat from Sports Unlimited. Finding the right bat
for you, like finding the perfect baseball glove, usually falls into the
categories of personal preference, skill level, age, and budget. Each
baseball bat offers different features and benefits that compliment
different players and skills. The material used to make the bat is the
number one difference between bats across the board. It's important to
understand the main types of bats out there before you look into getting
a new one for yourself or your little leaguer.
Wood baseball bats - Typically used by pro players, wood baseball
bats are heavier and less powerful than metal bats. Made with
high-quality maple or ash, their strength, durability, density, and
hardness makes them popular for higher level players. If you have your
eyes set on the majors, it's time to start practicing with wood bats. Aluminum bats - Lighter and longer-lasting than wood baseball bats,
aluminum bats also deliver a ton of hitting power. Their lightness lets
you generate more speed with less energy, so players of all ages can hit
the ball harder and further. Aluminum bats also feature "sweet spots" or
hitting zones on the barrel that give you the maximum area for the ball
to contact. Sometimes made of aluminum alloys, these bats are fairly
standard in little league, high school, college, and inter-mural play. Graphite / Titanium / Composite bats - The latest in baseball bat
technology, composite bats feature other metals such as graphite or
titanium added to the walls of aluminum bats. The overall affect is a
lighter, more powerful baseball bat that also features less vibration
and sting when contacted with the ball.
The drop of the bat is also an important factor to keep in mind. The
drop refers to the bat's weight minus its length. So a -3 bat would be a
30 ounce, 33" bat. Larger bats give you greater swing speeds, while bats
with small drops deliver more power.
Recently, league rule changes have altered the old requirements for
baseball bats across almost every league in the United States. These
stricter standards and rules for legal bats in these leagues have come
in response to improved technologies in composite bats, that deliver
incredible power and lightweights. More expensive, advanced bats were
felt to have given players unfair advantages as they were broken in. To
combat this, league officials have adopted new standards for judging
bats for legal use.
For NCAA and High School baseball and softball, leagues have now
adopted the BBCOR (Batted Coefficient of Restitution) standard for all
non-wood bats. This standard forces all college and high school players
to only use BBCOR approved bats during league play. To make finding a
legal bat easier, Sports Unlimited has grouped its legal college
baseball bats and approved high school baseball bats into individual
sections, so you can know your new bat is legal for play.
Little League and other similar leagues across the country have also
adopted new standards regarding their bats. Almost all composite bats
are now banned from use in little league play, if that bat exceeds the
standards printed on its label after it's broken in. New composite bats
are being tested every day by Little League International to ensure that
they do not exceed their standards once they're broken in. The lists of
approved bats for every division of little league are constantly being
updated. Although these changes have caused a lot of frustration amongst
parents and players, Sports Unlimited wants to help make things easier,
by providing you with all of our approved little league baseball bats in
one section, along with links to the latest approved lists.
We are committed to giving baseball and softball players the gear
they need to outplay the competition, and take their game to the next
level. That's why we stock a huge selection of adult and youth baseball
bats, slowpitch and fastpitch softball bats, and even tee ball bats!
With approved bats for every league, you're sure to find exactly what
you need at the plate, at prices that are out of the park, right here at
Sports Unlimited! |
