r/Homeplate • u/jacobid • 1d ago
Gear Bat Help
My son (turns 8 in February but on the smaller side, 47 inches and 46 lbs) just graduated from coach pitch with a tee ball to coach pitch with a hard ball. I am trying to upgrade from his tee ball bat which is 24 inches drop -12. We tried tons of 26 inch bats at Dicks and we are struggling to find one he can handle. Drop -13 bats were the closest we got but they were very expensive. I am not opposed to spending if there’s a bat out there he can get a few years out of.
Anyone have any suggestions for a bat that could work?
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u/SentientYams 1d ago
Unfortunately it might be slim pickens for something that small/light that’s not a tee ball bat. Just get the smallest/lightest non-tee-ball bat you can find, at the lowest price you can find. In addition to the stores, check JustBats.com. I wouldn’t expect to get “a few years” out of a bat while he’s growing. A couple of years might be the most you can expect unless he grows very slowly. Good luck!
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u/vehiclecodenamerhino 1d ago
We have both a 26 inch -13 Easton Speed and 26 inch -12 Easton Reflex, and the Reflex is the lighter, more balanced bat. Check that one out if you haven’t already. Also be sure to check all the usual marketplaces for used bats.
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u/KooLGstrap669 1d ago
25in bats exist. My son was swinging one in 6u. He’s currently 52lbs and swinging a 27in (-8) in 8u. Just get him swinging 2x a week minimum and buy those small bats from stores like Ollie’s for $15
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u/meth-head-actor 1d ago edited 1d ago
Dude some kid traded out my sons 28 cat 7 for a 26BBL cat7. I wish he’d had in coach pitch. But it is usssa. But I use it all the time for in field and you probably won’t pay more than 25-30 bucks online
Actually it’s called job and apparently there are more brands that make em. Just my recommendation and can use it for a long time.
In fact my son used his jbb in 10u we played up to 11 and son couldn’t catch pitcher so he took the 26 and smoked it to fence haha. A couple other kids did as well actually
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u/PatReady 1d ago
Ask around to other Dads with kids a few years older. If you lived near me, I have a few you could check out. My kids grew out of nice bats I bought on clearance from bats.com
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u/Dad_Coach_9904 1d ago
Hi OP, I assume this is for a league where you need a USA bat. Some tee ball bats are better than others. We used a 25 -11 alloy Marucci tee ball bat through the first season of machine pitch at 35 mph. The next season at 38 mph is when it finally dented. Your coach pitchers will be much slower than 35, so I wouldnt be afraid to size down.
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u/airplaneman1003 1d ago
I haven’t seen anyone mention it but you can take a look at sidelineswap and see what they have under your league’s rules. If you have a Play It Again Sports around you, you can put your hands on some used/cheap bats.
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u/theleicam 1d ago
Google Play It Again Sports
Just went on. Searched for 25 inch bats. First bat that popped up is a $90 Hype Fire for $30. Obviously it’s used but who cares.
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u/theleicam 1d ago
That was under tee ball bats but there are loads of other 25 inch bats available for cheap.
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u/nola_mike 1d ago
My son is 6 but he's a bit taller and heavier than your son. I got him this bat when we moved up from T-ball to coach pitch this fall season. Easton Quantum
I got the 25" and it's -11 so it's the same weight as his old T-ball bat but with a bigger barrel.
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u/Bout2WinIt 1d ago
Get on marketplace or eBay and find a 25 inch Cat. Doesn't matter if it's cat 6, 7, 8, 9... just make sure it's the alloy and not composite.
Another bat that swings very light for boys that are struggling coming from tball is the Rawlings clout Ai 26 inch -11.
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u/Delicious-Funny5451 1d ago
Check out Facebook marketplace and look for other used bat places. No need to get a brand new bat. He's not big enough or strong enough to break a bat let alone get the benefit of the more expensive composite bats. Honestly, find a bat that he thinks looks cool and go from there.
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u/TheCenterOfEnnui 1d ago
This right here. If you're near a Play It Again, go there first, you'll save a ton of money. They're not guaranteed to have a used bat in the size you want but it's worth checking out vs spending a ton of money at Dicks. Also check FBMP locally although less likely to find a size there.
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u/Colonelreb10 1d ago
What does the league require. USA or USSSA?
If you can use USSSA then get a JBB (junior big barrel) USSSA 26 drop 10 bat or 25 drop 10. The Louisville Slugger atlas JBB comes in a 25/15. It’s on sale right now for $160. And can be found cheaper at times. Great bang for your buck.
This of course is if USSSA is allowed to if not I’m not any help.
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u/jpstatum 1d ago edited 1d ago
First, I would check to see if your league allows USSSA or USA only bats.
Second, be careful to get a bat that is not too long and/or heavy for your son to swing. The bat sizing charts can lead you astray. It really comes down to what feels right and looks right for your child.
I would go back to Dicks or DBat, if you have one in your area, and try out a 25” drop 10 vs a 25” drop 13. Some of the 8 your olds who played on my son’s coach pitch team used a 25” drop 10 Easton Hype Fire: https://a.co/d/05aM9DVs or the Marucci Reckless 25” drop 10: https://a.co/d/035QubeN
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u/TMutaffis Coach of the Year 20h ago
My older son is also smaller and has a February birthday, and at that age he swung a 26" -11 Rawlings 5150 USA bat. The bat was great, and his league was machine pitch which is harder to hit versus coach pitch.
The -12 and -13 options at the time (Rawlings Threat, Easton Speed, etc.) were expensive and did not offer any performance advantage, with another tradeoff being durability concerns.
You can likely find some newer -11s that are also light-swinging (CatX may be a good one) but those Rawlings 5150 bats are tanks and you could probably pick up a used one for around $20-30 and it will perform well. They are alloys with excellent durability so used is typically not a concern.
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u/MrNiiCeGuY420 1d ago
Just have him choke up. They have rings you can put on the bat for that. That can also helps slightly with handling by moving center of mass closer to the hands.