Baseball Equipment

Baseball Equipment Starts with a Good Baseball Bat

When it comes to Baseball Equipment, not any old equipment will do.  You know this if you have ever been practicing using an unfamiliar glove or bat.  Besides adversely affecting your game, using baseball equipment that does not fit your body can cause aches and pains long after you have used them.  Also, if you are concentrating on making up for the poor fit of the baseball equipment; then, you probably aren’t going to be able to play at your best.

The good news is you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of cash on the most expensive equipment to get good equipment.  Instead of going with the most expensive baseball equipment possible, you can probably find what you are looking for at most sporting goods stores.  But there are some things to consider.

Let’s start with baseball bats.  Though the length of the baseball bat is important, it’s not all you need to consider.  Professionals say that you should also take into account the weight of the bat and how it feels in your hands.  This will vary for different people. Some people prefer the lightest bat that they can find whereas there are some like Babe Ruth who used to swing a bat weighing anywhere from 40 to 55 ounces.

Regardless of the weight, a proper baseball bat should be tailored so the way you swing the bat is considered.  If the bat feels more natural than others while you swing it, you are on the right track.

Some other tips to take into consideration are:

1. Tapering of the batting handle at the end of the bat.   If the handle rubs up against the bottom of your hand, it would be wise to choose another bat.   Over time, this minor irritation will impact your batting swing and focus.
2. Choose a bat with a large sweet spot.   A large number of aluminum bats now offer good-sized sweet spots.   We recommend purchasing a bat with such a sweet spot as it will give you a little extra help in games.   Although in practice, we recommend using a bat with a smaller sweet spot to train you into hitting the ball with the right spot on the bat.
3. Avoid any bats with concave ends. Bats with concave ends end up depriving you of a few extra base hits a season because eventually you will hit the ball a few times off the end of the bat. With a concave-ended bat, the ball will trail off and make an easy out. However, with a convex-ended or round-ended bat, the ball will more strongly careen of the end of the bat. This should lead to a few more of these hits leaving the infield and resulting in a “Texas leaguer”, “ground ball with eyes”, or a “dying quail” instead of an easy out.
4. Ensure the Bat End is Secure:   Double check to make sure the end of the bat is securely tied to the barrel of the bat.    There are a number of aluminum bats out there that will have the bat head easily come off.    Do yourself a favor and pick a bat that has a strongly secured bat end from the start.    One way of checking this is to see if any of the bat end material is already coming apart or showing some uneven separation from the barrel end.

There are a wide variety of different types of baseball bats and companies to choose from.  Choose the bat that feels the most comfortable to you regardless of price. Also, once you settle on a baseball bat, strongly consider purchasing a second identical one. If you do so, you can use one bat in practice and one in the games. This will ensure that you have a “live” bat for the games that is not deadened by too many baseball hitting practice.

*To get some advice on how to choose a good baseball glove, take a look at baseball glove.