Baseball bat trends: what’s hot in the world of wooden bats

Although the debate over banning metal baseball bats in youth baseball is unresolved, high school and college players are increasingly finding themselves playing in the wooden bat summer leagues. “It’s clearly a trend,” a coach told me last summer on the opening day of the John Marzano Wood Bat Scout League in Philadelphia. “Kids know they need to do this, so do their coaches, and scouts love it. Hitting with wood is much less forgiving than metal.”

All of this makes for a more diverse collection of baseball bats in summer lodges from Cape Cod to Surprise, Arizona. And as the wood bat trend spreads to younger players, parents and coaches may want to know what elite amateur players are wearing at tournaments like the World Wood Bat Championship held in Marietta, Georgia, in the East Cobb baseball complex.

Somehow you just have to look at the bats the pros are making. The two classics offered by Louisville Slugger, Derek Jeter’s C71 and Alex Rodriguez’s P273 are guaranteed by the world’s best bat company to be made from pro-stock wood. But if you look at Ryan Howard or Albert Pujols, they may be swinging Marucci bats; and Barry Bonds usually hits with a Sam Bat. Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins have been supporters of MaxBats for the past few years. And for much of 2008 Manny Ramírez was doing his dirty work with an X-Bat. Unsurprisingly, then, Marucci, Sam Bats, X-Bats, and Max Bats can all be found in hobby dugouts.

But don’t let the professionals be your only guide. There are only about 35 bat companies with approved and registered bats in Major League Baseball. More than 100 companies make wooden bats for amateur players. These businesses tend to be small and primarily serve regional baseball communities. Companies such as NYStix, Carolina Clubs, Bayou Bat Company, Hoosier Bats, and Barnstable Bat Company widely serve players from independent leagues, adult leagues, and local wood bat teams. NYStix got a big boost last year by manufacturing bats for New York City high school teams in their first year of play under the city’s new ban on non-wood bats. The business owner told me last winter that he was having a hard time keeping up with demand.

Hobbyists also like Old Hickory (made from maple!), D-bats, and M-Powered. Also, the more standard stocks that can be found with Rawlings, Easton, and DeMarini are common, especially DeMarini’s composite wood stick wrapped in a fiberglass sleeve designed to help children transition from metal to wood. .

Who knows which bats will be popular next season. Montreal’s Zinger Bats is ramping up its marketing plans. Miguel Cabrera, Bobby Abreu and Dan Uggla wore custom Zingers for at least part of last season. The influx of players from Asia has also been a blessing for Mizuno. And when players get hot like Josh Hamilton in the 2008 All-Star Home Run Derby, there’s no question that the bat he used will be at the top of every young hitter’s wish list (he rocked a Louisville Slugger from Ash, Model C353; 34.5 inches 33 oz; flame tempered with special Smith finish).

In the end, the switch to wood should keep players young and old in line throughout the winter searching for the right bat to start the new season; maybe not as fun as playing games, but certainly a useful pastime while we wait.

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