Maybe it's the bats...no, the actual "bats"

[HopsLikeHolwerda]

After watching the CWS this weekend, I noticed something interesting. TCU and Florida are the only two teams swinging Demarini. Tennessee, Wake Forest, and Stanford were all swinging Louisville Slugger. Oral Roberts swings Easton and Virginia swings Rawlings. LSU swings Marucci.

After the implementation of BBCOR standards in college baseball, Demarini jumped ahead of the competition...and we swing Demarini. In recent years, others have caught up and the durability of Demarini bats has been pretty bad.

I can say with confidence, that Louisville Slugger and Marucci are currently dominating the prep ranks. Demarini has fallen way behind because the new bats aren't as good (thus why the old red Voodoo Overlord kept getting passed down from older players). And the new Demarini bats are breaking at an alarming rate not allowing them to get hot as they age.

In short, Louisville Slugger and Demarini are now owned by Wilson. Maybe we ought to see if we can transition to the Louisville Slugger bats.

[Levon]

After watching the CWS this weekend, I noticed something interesting. TCU and Florida are the only two teams swinging Demarini. Tennessee, Wake Forest, and Stanford were all swinging Louisville Slugger. Oral Roberts swings Easton and Virginia swings Rawlings. LSU swings Marucci.

After the implementation of BBCOR standards in college baseball, Demarini jumped ahead of the competition...and we swing Demarini. In recent years, others have caught up and the durability of Demarini bats has been pretty bad.

I can say with confidence, that Louisville Slugger and Marucci are currently dominating the prep ranks. Demarini has fallen way behind because the new bats aren't as good (thus why the old red Voodoo Overlord kept getting passed down from older players). And the new Demarini bats are breaking at an alarming rate not allowing them to get hot as they age.

In short, Louisville Slugger and Demarini are now owned by Wilson. Maybe we ought to see if we can transition to the Louisville Slugger bats.

Hops, from your summer/travel ball perspective, does the brand of bat make a significant difference? And what do you mean by "get hot as they age"? I'm assuming all of these high quality bats cost roughly the same; do the major college programs have to purchase the bats or do the companies supply them for marketing purposes? Are coaches paid by the companies to use their products? Fascinating stuff.

[Haptown]

With every team now having a NCAA approved bat tester, a team can now "age" their composite bats up to the NCAA approved compression limits. Rather than the randomness of everyday use, the bats can now be mechanically aged over the complete barrel length, enlarging the sweet spot and trampoline effect.

There are some things that might make some go hmmmm, such as Wyatt Langford hitting a CWS longest 456' home run in the bottom of the 9th with Florida trailing 5-4. And all the other games where home runs have been hit in the 8-9th innings. Are teams holding back these doctored bats till late in the games to not raise suspicions like UTK did last years.

[Doresince89]

Remember the trip to Louisville Slugger when the team played there this year? Is it a coincidence?

[HopsLikeHolwerda]

Hops, from your summer/travel ball perspective, does the brand of bat make a significant difference? And what do you mean by "get hot as they age"? I'm assuming all of these high quality bats cost roughly the same; do the major college programs have to purchase the bats or do the companies supply them for marketing purposes? Are coaches paid by the companies to use their products? Fascinating stuff.

As a bat "ages" the walls get thinner, whether they are alloy or composite. Alloy bats are hot out of the wrapper and are preferred by most high schoolers and college players. Composite bats have a "break-in" period where the fibers that make up the barrel of the bat break and open, increasing the trampoline effect. Most take 1500-2000 swings to really start to open up.

In HS, older-age travel, and college, alloy bats have been the go-to for BBCOR. At the younger ages, most prefer the composite bats because they don't ring up the hands...and younger kids hate that feeling.

That being said, there have been two significant recent outliers in composite BBCOR bats recently. The Louisville Meta and the Rawlings ICON are proving to be able to compete with any alloy bat. Both are two-piece bats with a composite barrel. I joked with some friends earlier this year that UVA would make a run because Rawlings finally put out another good bat. I was joking, but it proved to be true. For Louisville Slugger, even without the Meta, the Louisville Select Power and the Atlas (both alloy bats) are as good as any bat on the market.

The issue with Demarini, at present, is that the one-piece bats (Voodoo and Goods) are breaking at the end-cap or the handle. And the two-piece bats (Goods two-piece) are breaking at the connection point. In short, the durability at Demarini is just not good right now, and the bats are breaking before the barrel can age. Plus, all of those bats are end-loaded (with the exception of the Voodoo One...but Bulger is the only player I've seen swing that model) which doesn't really fit the swings of our hitters. I've been so confused every time I see Bradfield come to bat with the green Goods two-piece. That bat is designed for power hitters; very heavy in the barrel.

So to answer the questions: 1) the bats do make a difference. It just depends on which models are "hot" each year. It may only be 3-4 mph on exit velo, but that is significant enough to turn some long flies into HRs. 2) thinner walls mean hotter bats, and barrel walls get thinner with usage. 3) College programs (at least all P5 conference members) will have an exclusive contract with a manufacturer that provides the bats. Each player gets a model of their choice each year...but most keep the new ones as souvenirs and continue to hit the first one they got as freshmen, as it should have aged. 4) Coaches and programs are definitely paid by the manufacturers to use their products.

The real question is whether the Vandy contract is with Demarini, or with Wilson (parent company). I assumed it was Wilson since our guys get a new Wilson A2000 glove each year. If so, Wilson also owns Louisville Slugger, so it seems they could migrate to that product line without breaking the contract. But Vandy has been with Demarini so long, maybe their agreement was prior to Wilson buying Demarini, and thus, Vandy is locked into the Demarini brand for bats. Obviously, I don't know what those contracts say, but for many years only Vandy and Oregon State were hitting Demarini...and both were very good. If I was Corbs, I'd be inquiring with Wilson about a migration to Louisville Slugger.

[Levon]

Hops, from your summer/travel ball perspective, does the brand of bat make a significant difference? And what do you mean by "get hot as they age"? I'm assuming all of these high quality bats cost roughly the same; do the major college programs have to purchase the bats or do the companies supply them for marketing purposes? Are coaches paid by the companies to use their products? Fascinating stuff.

As a bat "ages" the walls get thinner, whether they are alloy or composite. Alloy bats are hot out of the wrapper and are preferred by most high schoolers and college players. Composite bats have a "break-in" period where the fibers that make up the barrel of the bat break and open, increasing the trampoline effect. Most take 1500-2000 swings to really start to open up.

In HS, older-age travel, and college, alloy bats have been the go-to for BBCOR. At the younger ages, most prefer the composite bats because they don't ring up the hands...and younger kids hate that feeling.

That being said, there have been two significant recent outliers in composite BBCOR bats recently. The Louisville Meta and the Rawlings ICON are proving to be able to compete with any alloy bat. Both are two-piece bats with a composite barrel. I joked with some friends earlier this year that UVA would make a run because Rawlings finally put out another good bat. I was joking, but it proved to be true. For Louisville Slugger, even without the Meta, the Louisville Select Power and the Atlas (both alloy bats) are as good as any bat on the market.

The issue with Demarini, at present, is that the one-piece bats (Voodoo and Goods) are breaking at the end-cap or the handle. And the two-piece bats (Goods two-piece) are breaking at the connection point. In short, the durability at Demarini is just not good right now, and the bats are breaking before the barrel can age. Plus, all of those bats are end-loaded (with the exception of the Voodoo One...but Bulger is the only player I've seen swing that model) which doesn't really fit the swings of our hitters. I've been so confused every time I see Bradfield come to bat with the green Goods two-piece. That bat is designed for power hitters; very heavy in the barrel.

So to answer the questions: 1) the bats do make a difference. It just depends on which models are "hot" each year. It may only be 3-4 mph on exit velo, but that is significant enough to turn some long flies into HRs. 2) thinner walls mean hotter bats, and barrel walls get thinner with usage. 3) College programs (at least all P5 conference members) will have an exclusive contract with a manufacturer that provides the bats. Each player gets a model of their choice each year...but most keep the new ones as souvenirs and continue to hit the first one they got as freshmen, as it should have aged. 4) Coaches and programs are definitely paid by the manufacturers to use their products.

The real question is whether the Vandy contract is with Demarini, or with Wilson (parent company). I assumed it was Wilson since our guys get a new Wilson A2000 glove each year. If so, Wilson also owns Louisville Slugger, so it seems they could migrate to that product line without breaking the contract. But Vandy has been with Demarini so long, maybe their agreement was prior to Wilson buying Demarini, and thus, Vandy is locked into the Demarini brand for bats. Obviously, I don't know what those contracts say, but for many years only Vandy and Oregon State were hitting Demarini...and both were very good. If I was Corbs, I'd be inquiring with Wilson about a migration to Louisville Slugger.

Great answer, Hops. Thanks!

[egbertsouse]

Didn't Bradfield have a bat fall apart on him?

[HopsLikeHolwerda]

Didn't Bradfield have a bat fall apart on him?

Yep. Two-piece Demarini Goods. Looked like a custom team-issue one also, since it was black.