Wood bats. When should kids start swinging them?

Look at any ballfield across the country, and you’re bound to see more kids swinging metal bats vs. wood bats. The simple reason is that metal bats are more prevalent in sporting goods stores than wood bats, with the major reason being that there are fewer wood bat leagues for youth baseball players.

So, when and why should you have your young ballplayer swing a wood bat? The answer is AS SOON AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. Swinging with a wood bat at an early age has a tremendous amount of benefits.

The Ballplayer will become stronger – Metal bats are lighter than wood bats, because the barrel of a metal bat is hollow, whereas the barrel of a wood bat is solid. Swinging a wood bat over and over again is going to develop muscles in the hands, wrists, and forearms that can’t be duplicated by swinging a metal bat.
The Ballplayer will ultimately develop better mechanics – Because metal bats are lighter than wood bats, younger players can swing them with more ease. In order to send the baseball flying using a wood bat, a batter needs to get the legs and hips involved with the swing (or swinging with proper mechanics).
The Ballplayer should develop a better eye – Because the sweet spot of a wood bat is smaller than a metal bat, a batter needs to hone in on the wood bat barrel’s sweet spot when hitting. By practicing off of a batting tee, a player using a wood bat will be able to train their muscles AND their eyes before stepping foot into a batter’s box to face live pitching.

Those are just a few of the benefits of swinging a wood bat at an early age. The list goes on and on.

The common perception is that kids can hit a baseball farther with a metal baseball bat than a wood baseball bat. Makes sense…..the wood baseball bat is a little heavier than a metal bat, thus the swing speed will be a little slower. However, if a wood baseball bat is swung with the proper mechanics, a baseball will be sent just as far with a wood bat, as with a metal bat. Why? Because the barrel of a wood bat has more solid mass. It is this solid mass that will propel the baseball away from the bat after contact. Striking a baseball with a solid wood bat can most definitely result in ball speed and distance that equals that of a metal bat.

Wood bat popularity is at an all-time high around the globe. There are wood bat tournaments being held in youth leagues in almost every state. The fact is, that kids love playing with wood bats. It’s baseball at it’s purest form. And there is nothing better in sports than hitting a baseball off the sweet spot of a wood baseball bat. Ask anyone who has played, and they’ll have a hard time describing it to someone who has never hit with wood bats.

To help you find the appropriate wood bat for your ballpalyer, click the following link for more information: https://www.maxbats.com/bats/find-your-max/

Categories: Baseball Bats, Baseball Training, Metal bats, Wood Baseball Bats, Wood Bat, Wood Bats

Tags: metal basebal bat, metal bat, wood baseball bat, wood baseball bats, wood bat, Wood Bats

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Differences between Maple Bats and Birch Bats

Wood bats give you options that metal bats do not. And the most obvious option, is that you can get a wood bat in a number of wood species…..Maple, Birch, and Ash are the 3 most common.

Recent numbers show that MLB players prefer Maple Bats over the rest, but you might be surprised to find out that Birch Bats have taken over the 2nd spot over Ash Bats in what pro players use in games.

So what’s the difference between the 3 species? First, let’s go over Maple Bats vs. Ash Bats. Maple bats are very rigid, and this gives them tremendous pop. Ash has more flex, and some players like this because the ash wood bat can feel like it gives them a little more whip. The downfall with ash is that it can break down with repeated use, and that’s simply because of the nature of the wood grains.

Now, explaining the differences between Maple Bats and Birch Bats is a little more difficult to do because the two species are so similar. Both species are GREAT for making wood bats. One species is NOT going to be lighter than the other, as a lot of people think…..but what is lighter? A pound of bricks, or a pound of feathers? They both weigh a pound folks. Same with Maple and Birch.

The biggest difference between a Maple Bat and a Birch Bat is the flex. Many players say that a Birch Bat is the perfect mix of a Maple Bat and an Ash Bat, because it has the hardness of Maple, but the flex of Ash. However, it’s really not that simple. Birch definitely has more flex than Maple, but it doesn’t compare to the flex of Ash.

So, what’s the best wood bat for you? That’s going to be your own personal preference. But now you know a little bit more about the wood species options when choosing a wood bat.

Categories: Baseball Bats, Birch Bats, Maple Bats, Wood Baseball Bats, Wood Bat, Wood bat company, Wood Bats

Tags: Birch Bats, Maple Bats, wood bat, Wood Bats

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Wood Bats, Wood Bat Companies, and Wood Bat Billets

Do a search for wood bats on any major search engine, and you’ll be amazed at the number of options that might appear. The average consumer might think that a wood bat is a wood bat, and there is not much difference between wood bat companies.

However, there are HUGE differences in the raw materials that are used between wood bat companies, and manufacturing methods need to be taken into consideration when choosing a wood bat.

First of all, all wood billets are not created equal. In order to produce a wood bat with the straightest grain, a wood bat manufacturer needs to start with a premium wood billet. MaxBat only uses hand-split billets, because of their straightness of grain, yield, and overall performance. These billets cost more than those produced from sawn logs, but the old saying is “you get what you pay for”, correct? We’ve found that by using these billets to make our wood bats, MaxBats can be produced with better results than most other wood bat companies in the market.

The size of the company should also be taken into consideration. Yes, it’s neat that pretty much anyone with a lathe and a billet can produce a wood bat, but if you’re a serious ballplayer, and want a consistent and high-performance wood bat, you really ought to avoid the hobbyist bat manufacturer who spins a bat now and then in their garage. Hats off to these guys who are passionate about the game of baseball, but the precision needed to make high end wood bats can’t be replicated on hand lathes.

Also be aware that there’s a difference between Wood Bat Companies, and Wood Bat Brands. Private Labeling is offered by some wood bat companies to baseball enthusiasts who want to simply put their own label on a wood bat. The bottom line is that private labeled wood bats are typically made from lower quality wood or wood billets, and it’s a great way for wood bat companies to get rid of their waste. MaxBat is approached by individuals all the time that want us to private label for them, however we want to avoid that and focus all of our energy and efforts into making our own bats, and not someone else’s. And since we use the cream of the crop in wood billets, we virtually have zero duds, therefore there isn’t much of a need to find a brand to private label.

So, just some tips for the wood bat consumers out there who are shopping for their first wood bat. All wood bats are not created equally.

Categories: Wood Bat, Wood bat company, Wood bat manufacturer, Wood Bats, Wood Billets

Tags: wood bat, wood bat companies, wood bat manufacturers, Wood Bats

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Why you should train with a batting tee, especially with wood bats.

If you are training with a wood bat, the batting tee is perhaps the single best training aid a baseball player can use, and here are few reasons why:

1. Repetition is a key to greatness in baseball
The best hitters repeat a good baseball swing thousands of times until the correct fundamentals happen without thinking about them. Using a batting tee is one of the best ways to achieve this career-long process. This is why so many Major League baseball players still use the batting tee before games and during off-season – it’s not just for young players. The batting tee is a tool players should use from the youth leagues to the Major Leagues.

2. It cuts down on obstacles and distractions
This is the most important reason to use a tee. Using a batting tee allows you to isolate the aspect of your swing that you want to work on. A tee allows you to swing at 20% or 100%. You are in total control of your swing, which is important for working on weaknesses that make hitting off a live pitcher difficult. You can work on hitting a pitch in a specific location. You can also take a large number of swings in a relatively short amount of time.

It’s also going to help you find the sweet spot of your wood bat, especially if it’s a brand new custom model that you’ve just received. Swinging a brand new wood bat is going to feel different with each previous wood bat that you’ve used. They’re all going to be balanced slightly different, and the weight will vary. Tee work is essential to get used to that brand new wood bat, before taking soft toss or facing pitches from a coach or machine.

3. It allows you to practice on your own time, without a partner or coach
Being a team game, baseball can be difficult to practice without other people around. Of course, it’s great for a coach to watch and critique as you hit off the tee, or to have someone reload the tee for you as you swing, but then you can also go to a cage and practice on your own. It’s a beautiful thing. Since baseball is a game of repetition, using a batting tee will help you achieve your perfect swing through hard work and quality repetition. It also enables you to groove your swing without needing someone throwing you batting practice.

4. A batting tee is portable
Most batting tees will fit in your equipment bag or the trunk of your car. Since it’s easy to bring with you to the baseball field, batting cage, or backyard net, you will have more opportunities to practice and perfect your game.

Categories: Baseball Bats, Baseball Training, Custom baseball bat, Wood Bat, Wood Bats

Tags: Baseball Training, practice, wood bat

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Wood bats. When should kids start swinging them?

Differences between Maple Bats and Birch Bats

Wood Bats, Wood Bat Companies, and Wood Bat Billets

Why you should train with a batting tee, especially with wood bats.

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