Baseball Equipment Reviews - Demarini CF3 and Easton Stealth Composite Baseball Bats Compared

By Scott Mathewson

Are you tired of the ping, ping, ping of aluminum bats? Many people have complained about the high pitched sound before. Well, there is good news for you because the 2008 baseball bats are made of a carbon reinforced composite material. So, instead of the ping of aluminum you hear more of a crack of thud when the ball hits the composite bats. It sounds more like a traditional wood bat. Now you can get the distance of a metal bat without the annoying sound.

As a baseball equipment retailer and, quite frankly a person who loves the game, we often get asked to pick the best bat. Rather than play favorites, the following is a review of two of what will be the best selling bats in the 2008 equipment line up.

New for 2008 the Demarini CF3 is making waves all over the college baseball world. The CF3 is Demarini first attempt at a composite baseball bat and they past the test with flying colors. The Demarini CF3 is the first double wall composite bat that has 2 walls acting independently of each other for maximum trampoline effect. This combined with the new clutch end cap give this bat the biggest sweet spot in the game and allows for maximum performance on off center hits.

The Easton Stealth Composite is new for 2008 and is Easton’s second attempt at a composite baseball bat. The new Easton Stealth Composite comes two different ways the regular flex (BCN7) and the stiff flex (BCN8). The difference between the 2 is the amount of flex in the opti-flex composite handle. The regular flex has 3 times more flex than aluminum handles and the stiff flex has 1.5 times more flex than aluminum handles.

Easton second go around at a composite baseball bat is a huge improvement over the first. Last years version was very end weighted and a had a very heavy swing weight. In the new models Easton moved the kick point toward the handle giving this bat an incredible balanced feel.

Whether you choose the Demarini CF3 or the Easton BCN7, BCN8 baseball bats, you are swinging one of the hottest bats on the planet. So, keep you eyes and ears out for these new bats at a field near you.

And if in Omaha, stop by Prime Time Sporting Goods (10933 Harrison St. LaVista, NE 68128) and take a gander at our array of

softball and baseball bats and equipment.

And read our Coach's Corner blog for fun commentary on the world of baseball and more reviews for items like fielder's gloves.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Mathewson

==========
CoachesBest.com
HurricaneTrainer.com
BatAction.com
HandsBackHitter.com
QuickSwingTrainer.com
AdvancedSkillsTee.com
BattingCagesDirect.com
BattingCagesrUs.com
==========

Bat Rolling - What You Need to Know Before Rolling Your $300 Bat

By Chase Rodgers

Composite bats are made of many layers of fiber, resin, and glue. When a bat comes from the factory the resin and glue between the fibers are stiff and less pliable. As a bat is hit by a baseball or softball the resin and glue begin to break, this is what players would call "breaking in", literally. As the resin and glue breaks up the bat becomes more flexible in that spot. The same thing is accomplished through bat rolling, a bat is compressed through nylon or hard rubbers rollers and the resin breaks up leaving the area more flexible. Now when we do that around the circumference of the bat 8-12 times the bat becomes much more flexible. This flexibility equates to an increase in batted ball speed and farther distance of hit baseballs or softballs. Studies have been done and found that some bats after being rolled jump up as much as 5mph in batted ball speeds. You can figure about 8 feet per mph of batted ball speed.

Now, wait a minute isn't perpendicular rolling sufficient? Sufficient is a good word because the answer is yes, but if you want the resin broken up completely you would have to make about 8-12 more passes through perpendicularly hoping you roll the bat through the correct spots. After the bat is rolled perpendicularly, an assured way to break in the rest of the bat would be to roll it through a parallel rolling machine. This breaks up the resin that the perpendicular bat rolling missed, for a more consistent and flexible bat. The parallel rollers can not be too long, although, because there will not be a consistent and even pressure over the length of the rollers. The rollers really need to be a maximum of a foot in length; this would cover any sweet spot on any bat.

It would seem like breaking up the resin would decrease the longevity of a bat. To an extent this statement is correct so you could spend about 24 hours of batting practice breaking in every spot on your bat, hoping you did not miss a spot or get the bat rolled. In the first case you would have about an extra 24 hours of bat life as long as you didn't hit the bat in the exact same spot 10 times therefore decreasing its life. If you had trouble following that I will explain: bat rolling breaks in the entire bat with one swoop. Breaking in a bat in by hitting balls endlessly causes an inconsistent break in and heightens the chances of breaking the bat sooner. Now the bat still has a strong interwoven mesh of carbon fibers throughout the entire bat which is very strong, this is what makes it possible to stay durable and flex when the brittle resin is broken up.

So let's go over this; bat rolling increases batted ball speed and has a longer life than a bat broken in the same amount through normal hitting. Sounds good to me but some sanctions of softball have considered this an illegal modification. Bat rolling, when done correctly, can not be detected: so what the sanctions do not know won't hurt them.

Click here to watch the bat rolling process.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chase_Rodgers

Demarini Baseball Bat Review

AdvancedSkillsTee.com

Demarini Baseball Bat Review
By Rick Cates

Is Demarini the best Baseball Bat on the market? The 2009 line up of baseball bats may well be the best bats Demarini has ever made! Established in 1989 Demarini Bats, a sub-division of Wilson, is making a strong case to take over the baseball bat market. All of the Demarini bats have flexed tuned carbon composite handles which are lighter than alloys and will flex 2 to 4 times more providing more power at contact. Demarini makes 3 collegiate and high school approved bats, each having a different patented end cap. New for 2009 Demarini is touting their new "Pitch Black" composite technology claiming it is stronger than competing technologies.

Here is the line-up for 2009

CF3 Black (or special edition white) is a 100 % composite, two piece bat with double walls and "Pitch Black" technology. This technology touts 22% more carbon fibers than any other bat on the market with no fillers added which should give it a distinct advantage when it comes to power. This enables Demarini to double re-enforce a vertical and horizontal weave. This process provides the strongest and tightest composite weave resulting in more over-all power. The 2009 CF3 comes in collegiate or high school sizes as follows:
- 31/28
- 32/29
- 33/30
- 34/31

For senior league:
- 29/21
- 30/22
- 31/23
- 32/24

The 2009 Demarini Voodoo Black is made with pitch black composite handles combined with the newest SC4 Alloy. The Voodoo is a high quality bat with a proven reputation at a very reasonable price. The Voodoo is a very popular bat with a larger sweet spot that the ball really explodes off of. The line-up of 2009 Demarini Voodoos come in Collegiate and High School sizes as follows:
- 31/28
- 32/29
- 33/30
- 34/31

The 2009 Voodoos come in Senior League sizes as follows:
- 29/20
- 30/21
- 31/22
- 32/23 (-9's)

The Demarini Voodoos also come in minus 10 as follows:
- 29/19
- 30/20
- 31/21
- 32/22

The Demarini Vendetta.

Demarinis slogan for the 2009 Vendetta is "Attack the ball with a vengeance." This bat is completely re-designed using "Rail" technology to completely re-define bat handle technology. The 2009 Vendetta comes with 4 flat composite rails with varying flexes that run through the handle and reduces vibration, increases bat speed and delivers a nice combination of handle to barrel flex. New SC4 Alloy in the barrel rounds out this bat of choice for many Division 1 Programs. The 2009 Demarini Vendetta comes in the following sizes for Collegiate and High School baseball:
- 31/28
- 32/29
- 33/30
- 34/31

For Senior League the following sizes are available:
- 29/20
- 30/21
- 31/22
- 32/23

Last but not least is the 2009 Demarini Vexxum. This bat comes with a 100 % composite handle and exclusive SC4 Alloy comprised with Long Barrel technology giving hitters the longest barrel in baseball providing maximum plate coverage and a larger sweet spot. Even though the Vexxum is on the low end of the range for Demarini, it is still a quality bat. The Demarini Vexxum comes in the following sizes for the Collegiate and High School player:
- 31/28
- 32/29
- 33/30
- 34/31

Senior League bats are available in the following sizes:
- 31/26
- 32/27
- 33/28
- 34/29

Youth and Little League are available in the following sizes:
- 28/19.5
- 29/20.5
- 30/21.5
- 31/22.5
- 32/23.5 (-8's)

Youth and Little League also are available at -10 in the following sizes:
- 27/17
- 28/18
- 29/19
- 30/20
- 31/21
- 32/22 (-10's)

Demarini is a player in the baseball bat industry and provides quality bats in both the high and low price range. You can't go wrong with a Demarini Bat. To see more of my Baseball Equipment reviews visit me at Rick's Bats and Gloves, ETC.

Rick Cates is the editor in chief of http://ricksbatsandglovesetc.com - At Rick's Bats and Gloves, ETC we go over what is new in the Baseball and Softball world. We will review the latest products and equipment to help you in making your purchase of new or used equipment in the Baseball and Softball world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_Cates


HandsBackHitter.com

Baseball Coaching - 10 Tips For Improving the Quality of Your Baseball Practice Time

Advanced Skills Tee - Advanced Tee for Improving Great Swings!



Baseball Coaching - 10 Tips For Improving the Quality of Your Baseball Practice Time
By Nick Dixon

Today the baseball coaching 4 letter word is T-I-M-E:

Time Spent Must Be Justified

Wasting time is something that baseball coaches should avoid. There is nothing more precious to a player, to parents, or to assistant coaches than time. Time spent at the baseball field must be considered valuable or constructive time. We are coaches because we love the game and we want to help young players grow up to great adults. We help nurture that process by teaching good morals, good values, and good habits. There is no more important thing for a kid to learn than the value of time and the importance of always being punctual. The key to showing that you value time is to have your team practices, meeting, and other activities well planned and organized.

Here are my 10 tips for showing the value of time:

1. Be punctual at all times. If a practice is schedule to start at 3:00. You should start it exactly at 3:00. Not one minute early or one minute late. If the practice is set to end at 5:00, end the practice on time. A coach that constantly runs practice times over is showing little regard for time and family life. You should also set a precedent of doing what you say that you are going to do. Stay on schedule. That includes practice start times and end times.

2. Stop drills when the allotted time is up. Do not run over.

3. Do not waste practice time having coaching conference. Have your coaching meeting after practice or 30 minutes before practice.

4. Have a practice schedule. Have every minute accounted for and planned. Use odd minutes in drills such as 7.5 minutes. This emphasizes the value of time.

5. Have agenda for team meetings. If you have a team meeting without a purpose or agenda, you may be wasting time. If you have a team meeting and ramble on and on talking without direction and focus, then you are wasting valuable time.

6. Have a designated place in the dugout for the belongings of each player and coach. Make sure every player has their name or number clearly visible on their glove, batting glove and bat. This saves valuable time when a players has to find a glove, a bag, or a bat.

7. Do not talk through the fence with a parent or friend during practice. Kids should not do it and coaches should not either. You are showing a definite lack of respect for practice time. Make sure that you make it known that you will not have discussions or conversations with anyone during practice time.

8. Set all training equipment up before practice. Do not waste valuable practice time assembling, locating, or moving practice equipment.

9. Always disassemble and pack the training equipment up after the designated practice time is over. Do not waste valuable practice time packing way equipment.

10. Do not talk all night after a game. Set a time limit to post-game or post-practice meetings. If you cannot say it in 5 minutes, they are not going to remember it anyway. Younger kids have short attention spans. If you have more than 5 minutes of talk, save some of your talk for the beginning of your next practice.

Visit BaseballCoachingDigest.com for a great selection of Baseball Coaching and Training Articles. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, the "Hit2win Company". Dixon is a high school baseball coach and is widely recognized as an expert in the area of baseball training, practice and skill development. Dixon is the inventor of several of baseball and softball's most popular training products including the BatAction Hitting Machine, Hurricane Hitting Machine, Hitting Stick, Hit2win Trainer, SKLZ Target Trainer, and ZipnHit.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

Hit2win.com - Your source for the best hit trainers in the world!

Product Spotlight: The Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro Baseball Swing Trainer

Zip-N-Hit Pro®Zip-N-Hit Pro acts like a portable batting cage, allowing batters to improve their swing almost anywhere. Players have fun while developing confidence and power.

Fun, simple, and easy to use.
Lightweight and portable to allow
batting practice almost anywhere!

Features & Benefits
* As much fun to "pitch" as it is to bat.
* Improve hitting skills while increasing bat speed.
* Learn "top-half" hitting while reinforcing a level swing.
* Practice hitting pitches of different speeds and movement.
* Comes with an attachment clip and strap, for easy attachment almost anywhere.
* Suitable for Ages 7 and up.
* Effective training device useful for high school and collegiate use.

Nedco Sports Products, Inc.
200 Elizabeth Street
Boaz, AL 35957
Toll Free 877-431-4487

Attention youth baseball coaches - How do you develop a short, quick, compact swing?

How do you develop a short, quick, compact swing?

There's no better way than with the Mauer's QuickSwing - Joe Mauer Signature Series. Invented by Jake Mauer II for his son, 2006 Batting Champion, Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins. The Mauer's QuickSwing uses a unique delayed gravity-drop design to help batters develop greater bat speed, hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and muscle memory.

The QuickSwing helped develop 2006 A.L. Hitting Champ - Joe Mauer into one of the best hitters in baseball. It all started with a coffee can, cement and PVC pipe and now has grown into one of the hottest training aids on the market.

The Quick Swing is adjustable to different heights, can be folded for easy storage and transport, includes an instructional video with Paul Molitor and Joe Mauer and a proven 12 step hitting process guaranteed to help improve your batting average.

QuickSwingTrainer.com

Baseball Product Spotlight: The Joe Mauer Quick Swing Trainer

QuickSwingTrainer.com


The Quick Swing is adjustable to different heights, can be folded for easy storage and transport, includes an instructional video with Paul Molitor and Joe Mauer and a proven 12 step hitting process guaranteed to help improve your batting average.

..Improve your hitting mechanics
..Endorsed by all-time MLB baseball great and future Hall of Famer Paul Molitor
..Endorsed by Joe Mauer, the number one pick in MLB'S 2001 draft
..Allows a player to take batting practice alone
..Enables a player to improve on the fundamentals of sound hitting
..Improve bat speed, hand-eye coordination, and proper weight distribution
..Train indoors or outdoors
..Increase or decrease the level of difficulty
..Develop a quicker more compact swing
..Improve your baseball hitting technique.
..Improve reflexes, muscle memory and timing
..Replaces both batting tee and soft toss baseball hitting practice
..Allows you to use real baseballs, softballs or plastic balls
..Made of industrial-grade steel tubing and injected-molded plastic
..Can be positioned to drop the ball within any part of the strike zone
..Adjustable to different heights
..Can be folded for easy storage and transport
..Includes an instructional video with Paul Molitor and Joe Mauer
..Proven 12 step hitting process included.

QuickSwingTrainer.com