Softball bats - what's your weapon of choice?

[jmcclain19]

So I know I'm not the only slow pitch softball player who prowls these boards.

I've been thinking about getting a new bat and was wondering what some other players have been using if anyone cares to offer up a review.

I play twice a week in two different cities (the city I work in and the city I live in) - both at "B" level, and both leagues follow strict ASA rules as far as bats go.

Currently I swap back and forth between a Demarini Distance Doublewall & an Anderson Rocketech.

My Demarini is much older, and I've begun to notice some ripples in the bat - not to mention it just doesn't feel like it has the same pop anymore that it once did. But I've always loved the feel of the Demarini brand bat - but one caveat, this is my 2nd because my first Demarini bat broke 13 months into owning it (with a 12 month warranty just expired). That was a painful pill to swallow.

The Anderson is a nice bat, but I'm not sure I would pick it again as my first choice. It has a much smaller knob on the end, a weird quirk that you either like or hate. It also leans towards being end weighted, a feature I don't care for. But I got a smoking deal on it online. I would say I have a few months left in both before I have to find new weapons of choice.

I have been eyeballing a Demarini Steel I saw at Sport Chalet last week.

Anyone else have any preferences as to what bats they are using these days? Metal or composite? Double or singlewall? Miken, Mizuno, Worth & Louisville Slugger also all make some killer bats these days.

[Buckeye33]

I do not play ASA or on the "B" level. Our team plays D here in Ohio and almost always plays NSA rules.

However, I'll give you a link to a very active Columbus Ohio softball board that might be able to help you out with this question better than on here. The team that "hosts" this site plays B. There should be plenty of people with suggestions if you went ahead and posted a question.

Our D team uses a couple versions of the Jeff Hall Mayhems and I personally use a Catalyst. I'm just a singles hitter though. I'm sure you're looking for the most power you can get playng B.

Hope the site helps.

http://members4.boardhost.com/Wittdog15/index.html

[jmcclain19]

I think ASA is pretty similiar to NSA Buckeye - it may just be regional tweaks. I have a brother who lives in Jersey who goes by USSSA rules and he has told me it's just minor tweaks as differences between the two.

Thanks for the link - I'll check that out.

I've checked out a few good review sites as well

http://www.batreviews.com/

http://www.kellysultimatesports.com/bat-reviews.html

[Cyclone792]

Description: Rawlings Plasma SBLMP120 Multi-wall Slowpitch Softball Bat, Increased trampoline-Plasma shells provide 20% more barrel flex than popular competitive models. 13% thinner, high strength aluminum under the frame provides even more explosiveness behind the ball, increased strength and durability-Plasma utilizes a new CrE Alloy (Chromium enhanced) which is 8.5% stronger than previous Liquidmetal bats. This translates into a more durable and a bat with thinner walls. New sureLock end cap which guards agains mis-hits off the end. 400 Day warranty, 30% larger sweet spot than previous models. Larger Sweet spot translates into more well hit balls. USSSA, NSA, ISF Approved (Bat is NOT ASA Appproved). Buzz-Off Grip.

A couple buddies and I got a team together for this spring and summer, and we just put ourselves in a D league since we didn't know how we'd fare in the overall talent department. The last time I played in an organized league was four years ago, though I did play intramural softball while in college. I'm primarily a line drive/on-base hitter, and that better not change for this upcoming season given that I'll be the team's leadoff hitter, though I do have some power and can drive a ball to the fence if the situation calls for it.

As for the bat, I've seen it bat retail for as much as $250-300, but I picked it up off the Dick's Sporting Goods Outlet Center online shop for $80 back in January (Google checkout knocked the price down to $70). I actually hadn't realized how great of a deal I had gotten until a few days later and thought to buy a second bat to rotate use, but when I decided to pick up a second bat for the same price a few days later, the online outlet center had already sold out.

Since buying the bat, I've gotten out to a practice field with it twice, and I'm loving it so far. My specific bat is 34 inches/26 ounces, and I prefer 26 ounces over 28 just to pick up a slight edge in bat speed. The feel is great, the sweet spot really is fairly large, and all I have to do is put on a decent swing for nice results.

I wish batting cage balls weren't so harsh on quality bats, but I won't dare use this bat or any other decent bat in a cage due to the synthetic balls used in cages.

[Puffy]

The last time I played in an organized league was four years ago, though I did play intramural softball while in college. I'm primarily a line drive/on-base hitter

You seem like the type to take walks in slow pitch softball. Pansy.

[danken12]

Hey, I've played pretty competitely the past few years. I use a Worth PST for my ASA games. If you play a lot of ball them I'm sure you know about all the ASA restrictions there are on bats. With that in mind, you can't go wrong w/ a LS ASA Catalyst, Easton Synergy Extended, Worth ASA Mayhem or Worth PST. A great site for review of bats and discussion is:

www.softballfans.com

This is the primary softball board on the web.
Any other questions, just ask.

[OldRightHander]

Being a pitcher, I would have to say that I prefer any bat that doesn't send it back at me too fast. I have been using an old Demarini that I picked up used a couple years ago and I'm pretty pleased with it. I'm not a power hitter though, so I don't really know how it would be along those lines, but I do well enough spraying line drives all over with it.

[Cyclone792]

You seem like the type to take walks in slow pitch softball. Pansy.

You seem like the type to hack at everything and make outs in slow pitch softball. Pansy.



But just for you, I'll keep tabs on how many outs I don't make this season.

[rotnoid]

The Jeff Hall Mayhems are pretty amazing when you're swinging them and downright scary if you're playing in the field. The better ones aren't ASA legal. The Demarini Evo and Miken Maniac are also extremely hot. Both come in ASA and non-ASA versions.

[gonelong]

You seem like the type to take walks in slow pitch softball. Pansy.

I know your kidding around, but years ago when we played we were a pretty mediocre team with a good amount of talent. We just couldn't figure out why we didn't win more. A buddy of mine and I decided to take it upon ourselves to study a handful of the teams we thought we had similar talent to but they won more than we did. We expected to find they hit the cutoff man more, maybe took an extra-base from time to time, hit behind the runners, etc. After really studying 3-4 games it was absolutely clear to us. We simply didn't walk as much as the other teams did, we were a huge bunch of hackers.

We had an awful time convincing our team to take some pitches here and there. Finally we said we'd buy all the beer after a tournament if noone swung until they had 1 strike on them for the whole tournament. The walks piled up and I think we took 2nd in that tournament. From there we never looked back. A side effect of the walks is that it keeps the other team on their feet out in the field. No small point in the Ohio heat/humidity of July especailly on those days where you played 2 or 3 games in a day. You could literally see some teams folding out in the heat while you were filling up the bases with free passes. Bickering at each other, etc.

GL

[OldRightHander]

I know your kidding around, but years ago when we played we were a pretty mediocre team with a good amount of talent. We just couldn't figure out why we didn't win more. A buddy of mine and I decided to take it upon ourselves to study a handful of the teams we thought we had similar talent to but they won more than we did. We expected to find they hit the cutoff man more, maybe took an extra-base from time to time, hit behind the runners, etc. After really studying 3-4 games it was absolutely clear to us. We simply didn't walk as much as the other teams did, we were a huge bunch of hackers.

We had an awful time convincing our team to take some pitches here and there. Finally we said we'd buy all the beer after a tournament if noone swung until they had 1 strike on them for the whole tournament. The walks piled up and I think we took 2nd in that tournament. From there we never looked back. A side effect of the walks is that it keeps the other team on their feet out in the field. No small point in the Ohio heat/humidity of July especailly on those days where you played 2 or 3 games in a day. You could literally see some teams folding out in the heat while you were filling up the bases with free passes. Bickering at each other, etc.

GL

I'm with you there. I love pitching to teams that are free swingers. We shut out a team like that last year because they were hackers and I just stopped throwing anything over the plate.

[FutureRedsGM]

Anyone know anything about the Mizuno Wrath II? I'm in the market for a new stick and Dick's has this one "on sale" this week for $150. Says original price was $300.

Also, from what I can tell, I want a composite, non-ASA bat if my league will allow it. Is this correct?

If $150 - $200 were your budget for something, what would you suggest?

[TeamSelig]

Walks?

When I play softball they go by the 2 strike and you're out rule, and umps NEVER call balls (only on obvious ones)... this aggravates me because in baseball I tried to walk as often as possible.

[rotnoid]

Anyone know anything about the Mizuno Wrath II? I'm in the market for a new stick and Dick's has this one "on sale" this week for $150. Says original price was $300.

Also, from what I can tell, I want a composite, non-ASA bat if my league will allow it. Is this correct?

If $150 - $200 were your budget for something, what would you suggest?

I used to work for Dick's. This bat is probably old technology if they're selling it so "cheap." Are you opposed to buying a bat on ebay? You can get a better stick that way, but be sure to only bid on bats that offer a legitimate receipt (the warrany is void without one). My team picked up a Worth Jeff Hall M7 Reload for $215 this way last month. You'll have to be patient, but it opens your options a bit. Last year we got the DeMarini EVO (non-ASA version) for around $180. Both are composits and have a ton of pop. We've stopped practicing with the Jeff Hall because balls come off way too fast.

[jmcclain19]

As luck would have it - I'm on two new teams this softball season, and each bought some new sticks and I used them a few times so I thought I would pass them along here.

On my Friday night team - one of the guys is roommates with someone who runs an online softball gear shop. That shop sells nothing but ComBats (a brand I really hadn't heard of until I joined the team). It's quite humorous to put my two bats in the rack next to half a dozen of the same bat - the ComBat Anti-Virus.

It seems like most guys on the team use them because they got a killer deal, not because any of them are in love with the bat. I'm not the biggest fan, the sweet spot seems quite small, and when I was using one in BP it just didn't have the best feel off the bat - no real jump or pop to it. For a broken in Composite that's not the best thing.




The team in my other league spent a few bucks and bought two team bats - a Worth Mayhem & Miken NRG.

The Miken is quite end loaded - so I'm not the biggest fan. It's 100 swings in and isn't fully broken in yet - another downside. But the guys who use it regularly swear by it. The Worth I did enjoy - it's much more balanced than the Miken and seems to be more forgiving off the sweet spot.