Sports Blog » How to Buy a Baseball Bat

Buying a baseball bat can be trickier than you think. One of the most important aspects of hitting is generating enough bat speed to get good contact on the ball. Having a heavy and big bat doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to knock it out of the park.

So to help choose the right bat for you, here are helpful some tips:

Wood or Aluminum:

Today’s aluminum bats are so light and thin that they can rocket a ball at you at dangerous speeds in a millisecond. Check the rules in your league for barrel dimensions and make sure they allow the use of aluminum bats. For instance, new rules in the New York City area have outlawed aluminum bats in high school play.

Get a feel for it:

Pick up a bat and hold it in your hands. Get a nice feel for it. There is no real way to measure the length of a bat in accordance to your body. The best way to judge is to stand in a batter’s box and make sure you’re able to reach the outside of the plate for full coverage according to your swing. But most importantly, you should have total control of the bat and it should feel comfortable in your hands.

If you’d like a chart to help you with your search, these guidelines I found on MLB.com should help. Although these dimensions on the site are according to age, not every 17 year old is going to be the same height. Making sure you can reach the outside of the plate is the best formula for choosing length. Go to a batting cage and try out different bats to see which size works for you.

Judge the weight:

Since bat speed is crucial to successful hitting, be sure not to choose a bat that is too heavy for you. To see if a bat is the right weight, first grip the bottom portion of the bat with your TOP hand, or your right hand if you’re a right handed batter. Extend your arm out completely straight to the side and hold it there for at LEAST 20 seconds. If you have to bend your elbow to do this, or if your arm begins to slouch and shake, then it’s probably in your best interest to choose a lighter bat.

Buy for now:

Some parents won’t like to hear me say this, but buy for this season, NOT for the future. Some parents like to buy a bat a little bigger or heavier for their child so they’ll be able to use it for a few seasons. All though this cuts down their cost, this won’t help your little slugger connect with the ball today. It’ll make it harder for them to get around on a fastball in addition to looking like a caveman carrying a club.

If you follow these guidelines you or your child should be swinging for the fences in no time!