Wood Bat Training Program
By:
X Bats has been making professional grade wood bats for Adult League players to Major Leaguers to Youth League players for over 15 years. One of the challenges that top players face is the transition from metal bats to wood bats. The chief problem is that no matter how light a wood bat is, it can't feel lighter than a bat with a hollow barrel. The balance point in a solid wood bat is dramatically different than metal and composite bats.
Pick any wood bat up with one hand by the handle and you can immediately feel the weight in the barrel. Then hold the same bat by the barrel end and all of a sudden it feels much lighter. Why? You didn't change the weight, you changed the balance. That is what our 3 bat training system does for young players- it allows them to gradually transition from an over balanced metal bat to and under balanced wood bat.
How do we make a wood baseball bat more balanced? There are three ways:
- decrease the barrel size making it feel less end heavy
- increase the handle size so the weight is more evenly distributed throughout the entire length of the bat or
- make the bat with a large knob so the weight at the handle end counter-balances the weight in the barrel end
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