little league bat

Question
We are trying to find a quality bat for our 10 year old son.  I have tried to gather some information and we are trying to find the best quality bat yet we do also need to balance the price.  Are the $300 bats really that much better then the $100 bats?  Have you ever bought a blemished or discontinued bat?  Can you please offer some suggestions of quality bats for our 5'1" 10 year old playing in little league.  I really appreciate any advice.

Answer
Jimmy,

The $300 bats are really much better than the less expensive ones.  With that said, your son is 10, so you have a little area to play here.  My son is playing at the highest level of ball right now for his age and he plays year round.  He is in high school.  We like Louisville Slugger and he swings the ExoGrid, which is now a $360 bat or so.  I can justify it because the level he is playing at.  We feel that the ExoGrid is the best bat on the market.

But at 10, I think we used a lesser model from Louisville. The Omaha is a great bat with great pop for that level. At this time of year, the new models are coming out so I recommend checking the closeouts as well.  I don't recommend a blemished bat, but a lot of bats are changing there appearance, so last year's bat looks different but is the same bat.  Just a discounted price.  Even the Louisville Warrior is a good bat at a lower price. Make sure you get the right size bat, probably a 29 or 30 inch and for little league, get a -9 or -10 weight drop.  This will allow the maximum bat speed with a lighter bat, which results in greater power.

I don't recommend the bats that bend.  You want a stiff bat that has a lot of pop to it.  I have not seen much good luck with the bats that bend.

I hope this helps.  Have fun with it.

Coach Boss