Marucci CAT6 Senior League Bat 2015 (-5)

[BBSG]

Just got a used one on eBay.

Holy Cow. It's got a monster barrel and swings lighter than the rest of my kid's drop fives. A lot lighter.

[bbrages]

Lighter swing weight will result in lower batted ball speed.

[allenb]

Lighter swing weight will result in lower batted ball speed.

only if the swing speed is equivalent. The lighter swing weight often equates to faster bat speed.

[BBSG]

Lighter swing weight will result in lower batted ball speed.

This may interest you: http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/bats/bat-moi.html

[bbrages]

This may interest you: http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/bats/bat-moi.html

Try this: http://baseball.physics.illinois.edu...jst_88_web.pdf

[BBSG]

Maybe this is just conventional wisdom?

If you have a bat that is 31" long and weighs 26 ounces, and it swings like a "24 ounce" bat...
And, then you have a bat that is 31" long and weighs 24 ounces, and it swings like a 24 ounce bat...
Then you have two bats the same length, which you can swing at the same speed, but...
One of them carries more mass.

Would not the one with more mass behind it send the ball further, when swung?

[BBSG]

Holy Cow. It's got a monster barrel and swings lighter than the rest of my kid's drop fives. A lot lighter.

I just wanted to add on about the barrel. When I took it out of the box, I thought there was a mistake and they sent me a 2 3/4" model. I had to read the fine print on the bat and confirm it was 2 5/8." I am looking forward to seeing how this bat performs in games.

[bbrages]

Maybe this is just conventional wisdom?

If you have a bat that is 31" long and weighs 26 ounces, and it swings like a "24 ounce" bat...
And, then you have a bat that is 31" long and weighs 24 ounces, and it swings like a 24 ounce bat...
Then you have two bats the same length, which you can swing at the same speed, but...
One of them carries more mass.

Would not the one with more mass behind it send the ball further, when swung?

The article basically says that the "swing weight" is what matters, and the actual weight doesn't correlate as closely with either swing speed or "intrinsic power"

[2022dad]

Moment of Inertia (MOI) x's velocity

[Alanj]

I just wanted to add on about the barrel. When I took it out of the box, I thought there was a mistake and they sent me a 2 3/4" model. I had to read the fine print on the bat and confirm it was 2 5/8." I am looking forward to seeing how this bat performs in games.

My son swings the 30/22. The bat does well. It has a smaller sweet spot and it has taken a little to get used to compare to the Easton 28/18 he has been swinging. Just remember - they will eventually have to swing a drop 3. If my son stays in rec next year and moves up to play with the 13 and 14 year olds - he has too swing a -3. So it is good for him to start moving in that direction. Just something to think about.

[BBSG]

Agreed. Unless they change the rules again, my son can use the drop 5 in 7th grade (next year) and in 8th grade (the year after). But, in a perfect world, I would want him to use the drop 5 now (6th grade) and maybe next year. And, then use 8th grade as the time to start getting used to the drop three.

[bluedawg]

i don't think you're kid will struggle with a -5. Mine is similar age and size: 11, ~5'1",~105 lbs. He swings a 31/26 (-5) XL3. I remember his coach thought it might be too heavy -until he hit it well over the 200 ft fence. It did take some getting used to -he'd swing it so hard he'd almost fall down at times -lots of momentum in the barrel. Honestly I think it helped his swing more than anything b/c he could really feel the barrel moving. His -10 for LL feels like a wiffle ball bat.

[BBSG]

Yeah, he seems to be able to handle it - at least in BP. Still waiting to see it in a game.

[allenb]

Try this: http://baseball.physics.illinois.edu...jst_88_web.pdf

This article is misleading. It says the two things that matter are essentially the trampoline effect of the bat which is monitored by governing agencies and swing weight. When the swing weight is too great the batted ball speed drops as they aren't getting enough bat speed. However, the article doesn't test based on the relative strength of the player. That curve will change based on the strength (ability to generate bat speed) thus an 18 year old should be swinging a -3 34 inch bat which may be balanced, end loaded or somewhere in between to get the maximum velocity on the ball. An 11 year old with a drop 5 who hasn't hit puberty will have an entirely different curve. Further, even in the article it says there is a trade off for quickness of the swing and control of the swing based on swing weight, but it is not investigated heavily. If someone has to swing out of their shoes to get the bat moving, the resultant ball trajectory is not likely to be ideal. So a heavy of a swing weight as possible is good for tee ball and slow pitch softball.

I would agree that most kids swing a bat that is too light.

[bluedawg]

Yeah, he seems to be able to handle it - at least in BP. Still waiting to see it in a game.

my son coming out the dugout usually says something like "time to feed the beast" [the beast being the bat]