How To Choose The Right Softball Bat

Being the best on the field isn’t going to be an option if you don’t have a bat good enough for the job. Since pure talent won’t make the cut, how do you choose the best softball bat? Finding the best one won’t be a hard nor an easy job, but with this guide, you will surely know how to find the best one that will be tailored according to your needs.

You should try to find the best possible combination of material, length, and weight when researching for a softball bat. But how do you know which type is the best for you? How do you know which one provides the right swing and balance? Let’s find out the criteria below.

Choosing the right softball bat: Useful Tips and information

Bat material

Wooden bats are a thing of the past and as technology changed in the past decades, so have the softball bats. After the wooden bats, aluminum bats became very popular, but this isn’t the only option nowadays, composite bats have also entered the big leagues.

So, how to choose the right softball bat? Which one should you pick and which one has the benefits you need? Well the main characteristics of these types of bats are:

• Aluminum bats

This type can be found with a construction that is either single-layered or double-layered. Typically, aluminum bats deliver increased bat speed and control of the swing, as they are usually enhanced with metal alloys.

Double-layered bats are unique due to the benefit of more power and a build that will last a long time. This kind of aluminum bat is also popular with the professionals as they provide them a firmer strike that can’t be found in other types.

• Composite bats

This type of bats on the other hand is very light weight, which provides the user easier greater comfort and more control over swings. These bats, which are usually made from graphite, have a pretty major advantage when it comes to swing speed.

Deciding bat length

Another major aspect of softball bats is the length itself and there are lots of different methods on how to pick the appropriate one. Commonly it is suggested to read through charts based on age which indicate which size you need at which age. But experts are now trying to push a weight-based chart which is better since it takes the body type into account.

In the end, it is all decided by your personal preference and how comfortable it is for you to use the bat. Some classic guideline is that for a person who is ranging from 5’5’’ to 5’8’’ while weighting from 101lbs to 140lbs, he should get a bat which is 32 inches in length.

Deciding bat weight

The weight will be different across all bat models, but deciding the right one for yourself is again going to depend on your preference. You could buy a heavier bat if you’re a strong person, but you need to keep in mind that with this, you’re sacrificing some essential swinging speed.

Determining how heavy for you a bat is can be done easily and should always be checked when buying, so just follow these simple steps:

• Hold the bat with one hand

• Extend your arm on the side

• Try to keep it that way for about 30 seconds.

If you successfully held it for 30 seconds, you don’t need to worry about not being able to use it. But if you dropped it at some point, you may want to pick something lighter.

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Getting the right “drop”

Now that you have both length and weight decided, you may want to look into something that is referred to as the drop of a bat. Basically, it is the difference between the weight of a bat and its length. This difference is another important aspect and we recommend you to get the optimal one.

To put it in a simple way, drop is a numerical difference between the inches of the bat’s length and the ounces of its weight. Bats are standardized in the way that the maximum drop is 12 while the minimum one is 8, deciding the right one is up to your preferences, but here are some guidelines:

• Getting a -8 or -9 drop is good for powerful hitters.

• A -10 would be a perfect fit for players who are solid single hitters.

Conclusion

Selecting the best softball bat really is a piece of work, but researching the basics of what makes a bat good will, in the end, help you greatly and make your talents stand out. The basic conclusion which we can draw from the before-mentioned characteristics is that you should tailor the bat according to your needs.

With this, you have to note that no weight, length or age chart will ever replace or change how comfortable you are with your newly bought bat. So, now that you know how to choose the right softball bat, you should always buy the one that you think suits you best.

Author Bio:

My name is David, I am an editor/co-founder of www.theplanetofbaseball.com. Being a software engineer by day and a baseball blogger by night, I also participated in the training activities of a youth baseball team at my hometown. I have passion with baseball, it pertains to my life from childhood until now and I love to share what is related to that passion with others. I believe in the support of other baseball bloggers like me to spread the passion.