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Stated Weight Doesn't (Really) Matter
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Aluminum vs Composite vs Both vs Neither (Wood)
The best way I've found to start narrowing down the thousands of
legal bat choices, instead of
looking at ridiculous bat sizing charts, is to first decide between a two-piece or a one-piece bat design.
The one-piece vs two-piece bat conversation can be a complicated one--but we don't need to be complicated to make a decision. In its most technical and honest sense, the debate is one which can only be answered honestly with a great deal of data and very well done tests. Neither of which the industry has sufficiently to claim one bat types superiority over another. We do know for a fact, however, two piece bats tend to cost more than one piece bats. Accordingly, they also come with more sales hype. Some verifiable, some debatable and some snake oil.
Of the several reasons some might suggest you pay more for a two-piece bat, only three are verifiable.
Sting Dampening
The first verifiable reason for a two-piece bat is a
sting dampener, which
placed in the connective piece of a two-piece bat, makes mishits less painful in the players hands. Less stingy swings, it can be effectively argued, make some batters more confident in swinging the bat hard. And a more confident hitter is often a world of difference in successful outcomes at the plate at any level of baseball.
On the flip side, the best data out there suggests dampening hand stings with a more flexible or technological savvy bat comes at the proportional cost of a less powerful transfer of energy to the ball. (And this makes some intuitive sense as absorbing the bats energy and vibration in a sting dampener decreases the energy in the bat and, hence, batted ball). There is, it appears, no way to dampen the impact to your hands while not also dampening the power in the hit ball. (Incorrect, says DeMarinni's D-Fusion Handle--oh, okay, since the commercial is cool, i'll just believe it...)
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| Easton XL3: Composite Handle/Aluminum Barrel |
Is, the question is begged, a potential loss in bat power made up for in batted ball speed by the possible increase in hitter confidence due to 'unstinged' hands? This is a player dependent question for sure, but I suggest there is NOTHING more important, especially for little leaguers, than confidence at the plate. And if a marginal loss in power created by a two-piece also restores a ball smashing attitude, then I wouldn't hesitate to go for a two piece bat. It is, in my opinion, the most justifiable reason to spend the extra money on a two piece bat.
Interestingly, a bat that decreases the sting of mishits simultaneously and proportionally gives the hitter an impression of more solid contact. It is why, I believe, two-piece bats often get better reviews than their one-piece counterparts. Yet its probable the feel good hit of a two-piece bat is actually hitting the ball shorter and slower than its one-piece sidekick. Maybe put another way, a one piece bat gives immediate and clear feedback (butter if its hit right, electrocution if its hit wrong) whereas a two-piece allow mixed messages (butter if its right, butter if its hit wrong). In theory at least, a two-piece bat design may make the hitter feel better about his swings but result in a objective measurements showing the exiting the bat slower. (In other words, reviews aren't very helpful).
Bat Flex (NO!)
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| This Famous Picture is AFTER contact. |
The second verifiable reason a two piece bat has some extra value when compared to single piece has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH FLEX.
One of my goals in life is to stamp out this line of thinking among two-piece bat lovers. Some suggest, because they saw a golf club do this once, a baseball bat with a hinge point can flex on its way to the ball and 'accelerate through the zone' faster than the bat speed. They often refer to this a whip or barrel make-up speed.
First off, one-piece bats are plenty capable of 'flexing' and making a bat in two pieces for the sole purpose of creating flex seems as smart as counting your chickens by numbering all their feet and dividing by two. (And lots of two-piece bats are as stiff as any one piece you'll find).
Second off, No one has yet to show anyone can swing a bat, worth swinging in the first place, hard enough to create a flex in the shaft BEFORE impact.
Any data we do have shows flexing bats before impact isn't possible.
The flex lie is perpetuated by a few great pictures showing a bats flex as hits the ball. HOWEVER, all of those pictures are
AFTER THE HIT. If someone showed me a picture of a baseball bat flexing TOWARDS the ball through the zone you could color me perplexed. But all of the pictures show the bat flexing backwards AFTER THE HIT. And, if we were to think about it, the fact a bat is flexing away from the ball after impact proves a more flexible bat actually hits a ball with less force.
Do not buy a two-piece bat because you think it whips through the zone to create a faster barrel speed.
It does not.
Optimal Weight and Strength Design
The second reason you may rightfully consider spending more money on a two-piece bat design is because it allows for engineers to create an optimal weight and strength design.
Weight distribution and structural integrity of our baseball bats is and will ever be of paramount concern. A two-piece bat design, with the options of composite and aluminum on either or both sides, allows manufacturers more liberty in pinning down the optimal swing weight and balance points across all types of hitters. Although one-pieces are an impressive technological feat these days, they simply don't possess the inherent ability to fiddle with the
MOI's.
If your hitter is struggling to maximize their bat speed and contact ability it may be your one-piece bat doesn't have the right weight distribution.
I'd suggest it would usually be a pretty advanced player to struggle in this department, but there is a reason those at the highest levels of aluminum and composite bats (USA Softball and NCAA Baseball) more often then not use two-piece bats.
Innovation
The third and final legitimate reason you may justify spending more money on a two piece-bat is the connection between the two pieces allows for some interesting innovations--and one day we might get something which is proven to actually works.
Two examples (neither of which I think are verifiable--but interesting and exciting nonetheless): The
D-Fusion handle from DeMarinni in their 2014 CF6 bat and
Louisville Slugger's Attack's Graphite connection. The D-Fusion claims the ability to echo the vibration of a mishit back into the barrel for more power while simultaneously decreasing vibration in the handle. I don't quite buy the idea it works enough for measurable results but the idea is cool enough. (And, by the way, vibration really only happens on mishits so it can't happen on bomb-dropping sweet-spot blasts anyways). I'm not sure, quite frankly, what Slugger is trying to do with the graphite piece--although I've looked at their ad slicks and web site for a while trying to figure it out--in the Attack but it looks like they are trying something down there.
Either way, the future of baseball bats, in my opinion, is optimizing the connection between the two pieces. This assuming, of course, little league baseball doesn't just shut down the whole two piece thing altogether before we get there.
Conclusion
If you have a little leaguer who struggles with stingy hands and appears to now lack confidence to go after the ball I'd suggest a two-piece bat pretty strongly.
If you've played for a while and hate stingy hands then a two piece is probably the answer for you.
If you've been playing for a while and believe a certain two-piece bat you've already tried gives you the perfect type of swing weight (over any single-piece you can find) then I'd suggest you have a very valid reason to spend the extra money.
If you believe a certain bat company has finally cracked the secret to a two-piece bat which delivers more power than its single piece counterpart (all other things being equal) then by all means be my guest. The rest of us thank you in advance for funding the bat company's' R&D departments to come up with something, one day, which might be the gold standard in composite and alloy baseball bats.
If your hitter is pretty new to baseball I'd suggest a single piece bat. The feedback he or she gets from a single piece bat is good information.
If you think you get more power in a one piece (because you probably do) and you relish the pain from a zinger in your palms on a mishit then continue to be the man you are and stick with a one-piece bat.
If you really don't care either way then save yourself a few bucks and go with a one-piece.
Once you've made this decision your bat selection options are actually getting manageable. One more step and you'll be on your way to dropping bombs.
Next Step:
Aluminum vs Composite vs Both vs Neither (Wood)
Previous Step:
Stated Weight Doesn't (Really) Matter
If you feel like you are right on the cusp of the composite bat craze but not quite there, I'd go for a two-piece aluminum handle composite barrel combo bat. Some models have really caught on among the little league ranks: DeMarini's Vexxum and Louisville Slugger's Vortex.
