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A Little League player is looking for a new bat. Having decided on a certain length the player discovers that in addition to the choices of materials (wood, aluminum, or composite), and the various technologies (Vibration Reduction System, Nitrogen bladders, piezoelectric shock absorbers, double walled barrels, composite materials) there is also a wide selection of bat weights. Consider the following list of 30inch Little League bats which I currently have in the Acoustics Laboratory at Kettering University. Some of these bat models are older, and may be no longer be available, but the distribution of materials and weights are of interest.

Our softball bats come in 10 different models. Per ASA rules, all softball bats are identical from the transition through the 2 1/4" barrel. The differences are in the handle thicknesses and knob styles.

Our Model ASA 59 and Softball 59 both have thin 7/8" handles and would be good ones to consider.  The ASA Spec model has a straight handle all the way to the knob. The Softball 59 handle tapers to the knob.

With the new BBCOR aluminum and composite bats mandated for high school and professional play, players are finding that high quality professional grade wood bats are now outperforming the BBCOR bats.

BBCOR stands for "Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution" and it focuses on how much of a trampoline effect the barrel of a bat has on a ball. Bat manufacturers now have to, in effect, "deaden" the trampoline bounce that pitched balls experience when a batter makes contact. Basically, aluminum bats will theoretically be the same as wooden bats.

Beginning in 2012, all High School baseball bats will follow in the same way, that is, they will all need at BBCOR stamp on each metal/aluminum/composite bat.

What a player now gets for his $400. is one choice of bat shape from EVERY different manufacturer, one handle style from EVERY different manufacturer, one handle thickness from EVERY different manufacturer, only three length choices and one weight choice. WOW! The monopoly is dead! Players now have a say in the equipment that suits their size, strength and game.

There have been lots of questions from players switching from aluminum to wood softball bats as to what weight to order. Most try to get a –5 since they think the bat speed is important. They are accustomed to swinging the lightest aluminum bat possible since weight and mass behind the ball does not matter with aluminum bat barrels which provide all the pop by virtue of the material used and the thin walls.

What many new players don't seem to grasp is the concept of bat weight vs. swing weight. If you take a 34 inch, 32 ounce thin handled, big barreled bat and hold it by the handle, it feels very heavy because the weight is all at the end of the bat where the wood is. If you pick the same bat up and hold it by the barrel, it suddenly feels very light. You didn't change the weight of the bat, you changed the balance. Aluminum bats feel light because the barrels are hollow and the weight is in the handle. To get the swing weight feel of an aluminum bat in a wood bat, the wood bat would need to be a -8.