Author: Jacob

When it comes to the bat weight, it is often assumed that the stronger the player, the heavier the bat should be. That is not necessarily the case. Accelerating the heavy bat will be harder than a lighter one, which means the point at which the bat will have the most force will be at the end of your swing. But the end of your swing may not be the point at which you hit the ball. It is best to have high speed at every point of the swing. That way your performance will be consistent, even if some balls you hit a little later or a little earlier than ideal. It is important at this point to make the distinction that when it comes to youth baseball ages between 7-13, girls will need longer bats than boys usually, because girls will be taller. This means that the drop of the bat will likely be greater than for a boy of equivalent age. It is important to avoid any confusion and point out that this is not due to girls being weaker, but because the bat is longer. The net weight of the bat is likely to be the same for boys and girls of equivalent age.

When it comes to the material of the bat, most people are surprised to learn that wood is a niche option. Wood bats are normally used only if absolutely necessary to adhere to local regulations. Most bats that are used on modern baseball diamonds are non-wood. Non-wood bats usually come in one of three varieties: alloy, composite or hybrid. The first kind of bat material is alloy, predominantly aluminium. Alloy bats are the cheapest of the non-wood bats. Their main advantage is that they can be used without breaking in, as soon as you unwrap it. Another reason alloy is favored, especially early on, is due to its durability. Even if they dent, they are still perfectly playable, unless the dent severely deforms the barrel of the bat. The downside is that their batting sweet spot is much less than those of the competition, and the alloy transmits all of the vibrations from the hit right into the hands of the batter, making them less desirable for longer games.

On the opposite end of the material choices is a composite bat. These bats are made out of carbon fiber, which lends the bat incredible lightness and unrivaled weight distribution. The manufacturing process allows for a composite bat to have near-perfect weight distribution, allowing for either perfect 50-50 weight balance between the handle and the barrel, or making the bat end-loaded, giving more weight to the barrel of the bat for more power. These bats cause less vibrations to the hands and have a wide sweet spot, but need to be broken in after purchase and, if damaged, cannot be repaired. And buying a new one will be more expensive than the alloy equivalent. Hybrid bats combine the best of both worlds, with a composite handle and an alloy barrel, but keep in mind that not all baseball leagues allow for hybrid bats to be used in their tournaments.

Choosing a baseball bat might not seem like a big deal. After all, a bat is a bat, right? Well, you will be surprised by the variety of bats on the market in terms of material, and the guidelines by which a bat is to be chosen. It is very much a numbers game, and pretty much the same principles apply to women as to men. Your age, your height, your weight, and your league all matter in this process. Let’s break down the process in simple terms.

Throughout the history of baseball, the physics of the game have been explored in detail. On that basis, baseball has created a system by which a bat is chosen. One of the things that will surprise you is that there is no “standard” bat in terms of length. In fact, the length of the bat is chosen individually to each player, and players cannot simply swap bats and expect similar results. There is a system, for example, that allows you to choose the right length of bat for you. You need to know your height and your weight. You can find multiple charts online that help you calculate the ideal bat length for your specific weight-to-height ratio. With this information you can go to the store and ask for a specific length right away. However, it is always worth double checking if the bat you are buying is the right size. There are two ways to do it. One way is to put the bat down along your leg with the barrel end touching the ground. If you can easily rest your hand on the knob of the bat, then it is the right size. Another way is to put the knob of the bat on your chest along your arm. If, from this position, you can easily grab the barrel of the bat, then it is the right fit for you. Similar charts exist for child players, but expect to have to change bats as they grow up. In girls, this change will be more gradual, but will come earlier. The general rule is that a kid will need a larger size bat for every 10 centimeters of growth in height.

Another aspect to consider is the weight. Things are not straightforward in this regard either, as the net weight of the bat in pounds isn’t useful information. The weight of the bat is always looked at in terms of the relationship between the length and the weight, otherwise known as the drop. Basically, you need to take the length of the bat in inches and subtract from it the weight of the bat in ounces. That way a 29 in bat that weighs 20 ounces has a -9 drop. This means that the bigger the drop of the bat, the lighter the bat is for it’s length. Most adult bats will have a drop of no more than -3. Drops for kids’ bats go much greater and decrease with increasing age and league of the player.

Baseball is no different from any other sport in that it is a zero sum game. You know full well your team will lose, and sometimes that loss will be a wipeout, and sometimes the victory will be snatched away at the last second.

Decades of competition have indisputably proven that women can compete in baseball on par with men. But equality does not mean homogeneity, and women carry many important psychological differences into baseball and sport in general. If the goal is to train the next generation of professional female baseball athletes, then all psychological factors must be taken into consideration when coaching girls and young women. There is research-based information that can be actionable on the diamond, which coaches should take on board. This is not to say that there is a universal method for all women – the research findings are a generalisation which allows for general guidelines in women’s baseball coaching. This should not be done at the expense of accounting for individual differences of each team member.

This is an interesting time for women in sports, including baseball. Some consider this time somewhere between the worst being behind, but the best having yet to arrive.

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In 1942 the world was at war, and in the young men of the US starting from 18 years of age were taken into the army. Because of this, the sports leagues, specifically the Major League Baseball Parks across the country were on the brink of collapse. They were trying to find a way to keep baseball leagues up and running. During that time Philip Wrigley, a chewing-gum businessman, whose father passed on the Chicago Cubs to his son, tried to come up with a solution to solve this dilemma. After long conversations with the baseball committee, it has been decided that the girls’ softball league is to be established to keep the fans coming to the games. 

Being a woman in the sport that is believed to be a male-only sport, can be tough. Yet, since the beginning of female baseball teams, young girls had proved they deserve to be remembered and acknowledged for their athletic achievements. Here are just a few famous female baseball players who shaped the history of female baseball.

While the 1920s marked the time when women had to play baseball indoors, one of the most prominent institutions has played a major role in baseball’s female uniforms. Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, introduced baseball to its campus around 1915. The year after baseball started in Carleton, there were already four baseball teams. Each of the teams was representing a class from freshmen to senior. In 1922, the women’s baseball program was established at Carleton College. However, this was not the only thing the college was famous for.