The evolution and evaluation of the bats I use in amateur baseball.

草野球で自分が使用しているバットの変遷とその評価 baseball
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It's been 10 years since I started playing amateur baseball, and the bats I use have changed quite a bit over time.
I'd like to give a brief overview of the baseball bats I've used, from the first one I bought to the one I use now.
(The main things I remember)

 

Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay

Mizuno CarboChoice 84cm 700g Mid-balance Carbon

This is the first bat I bought when I started playing amateur baseball.
My regular batting cage had a bat weighing around 700g, and I was used to that weight, so I bought this one.
It is characterized by the dull, thudding sound that is typical of carbon fiber.
I still use it regularly, for things like practicing batting practice.
I no longer use it in actual combat.
This is a bottle full of memories.

 

Mizuno Techfire 84cm 700g Top Balance Carbon-based three-layer construction

This is the second bat I bought to investigate what "top balance" actually means.
The silver base color is striking, adorned with a passionate flame pattern.
Since it weighed the same 700g as the first bat, it was easy to notice the difference in the center of gravity.
I remember that back then, I wasn't swinging the bat properly at all, and I ended up hitting a lot of ground balls to the pull side.
He has now sold it cheaply to a teammate, and it seems to be performing well in actual games.
I'm a little happy.

 

Mizuno CarboChoice 83cm 680g Counterbalance Carbon

After trying middle-balanced and top-balanced bats, the next logical step is to purchase a counter-balanced bat.
It's relatively lightweight at 680g, but thanks to the counterbalancing, it's even easier to control the bat.
I didn't use it much in actual matches, but I used it a lot for practice.
It's currently sitting unused at my parents' house.

 

Rawlings Tubefire 84cm 720g Top Balance Urethane

Now, having witnessed firsthand the power of so-called "high-flying bats" in actual games, I've started to find bats with a softer hitting surface appealing.
I heard rumors that the Beyond is too soft and unpleasant, so I decided to buy this Tubefire.
At the time, 720g was a top-balanced weight for me, and I couldn't swing it properly at all.
However, when the ball was hit squarely, the line drive followed a trajectory that could never be replicated with an ordinary bat.
The trajectory is lower and more of a line drive than the Beyond.

Naturally, the price was quite high, which prompted me to invest a considerable amount of money in a baseball bat.
I've now given this bat to someone who helped me out, and it seems they use it occasionally.

 

Mizuno Beyond Max King 2, approximately 740g, top-balanced (I'm not entirely sure).

Having enjoyed Tubefire so much, I decided to go for something more mainstream and finally tried Beyond.
Among them, I purchased this bat with a silver and greenish design.
Looking back now, I realize I wasn't even swinging that bat properly.
However, in terms of distance, I think it was the longest drive I've ever achieved.
It's like a bat that can easily hit a medium-speed, half-speed pitch.

I've since sold this bat to an acquaintance.
I feel like the trajectory of the Beyond is higher compared to the Tubefire.

However, because the ball has such remarkable velocity in the opposite direction, it often gives the impression that a second base fly ball will turn into a bloop single to right field.

 


Mizuno Spark 84cm 760g Counterbalanced Super Duralumin

I started to feel uncomfortable with the feel of the Beyond series, so I bought this to remind myself of metal bats.
Despite weighing 760g, it's easy to swing thanks to its counterbalancing design, and I'd say it's the easiest to use of all the standard bats I've owned.

 


Zett Android 84cm 640g Top Balance Super Duralumin + Carbon

This is the last normal bat I'll ever buy, so I bought it with that in mind.
It was a bat with a black body that gleamed quietly, and it was a comfortable weight to handle.
He showed signs of becoming an even greater talent than the aforementioned Spark, but due to circumstances, he was sold to a teammate.
It was very easy to swing.

 

Mizuno Beyond Max Oval 83cm 650g Mid-balance

I realized that even with a Beyond bat, it wouldn't mean anything if I couldn't swing it properly, so I focused on choosing a bat that was the right weight for me to hit the ball far.
It was reasonably lightweight, but I was surprised that it didn't fly as far as I expected from a Beyond model.

 

Mizuno Beyond Max King 83cm 690g Top Balance

I bought this model because I figured there was no point in using a Beyond that didn't fly well, even though I probably should have just stopped using it.
It had a pretty good balance and I got good distance, but the 40g increase from 650g felt heavy.
I was hoping that a weight in between, 670g, would be perfect...

 


Mizuno Beyond Max King 83cm 670g Top Balance

The long-awaited 670g size has finally been released.
The only downside is that it's 83cm long.
However, everything else was perfect, and he had a long and successful career.

 

Mizuno Beyond Max Mega King Advance 84cm 700g Top Balance

I've gradually gotten better at swinging the bat, and that made me want to hit the ball further, so I ended up buying one.
The urethane surface extends almost to the base, allowing you to force even jammed balls into hits.
It was very easy to handle, but it was a bat that made me forget the saying, "A bat is useless if you can't swing it properly."

 

Zett Black Cannon Lightweight Type 84cm 650g Middle Balance FRP

I bought this bat because it reminds me of the basics: a bat is only effective when you can swing it properly.
Despite weighing 650g, it didn't feel particularly light, perhaps because it was a bit thick.
When you hit the ball, it makes a distinctive sound like "snap" or "bang."
It doesn't quite have the same power as the Beyond series, but the initial velocity of ground balls feels quite fast.
I highly recommend it because the design is really cool.

 

Rawlings HyperMach S 84cm 650g Middle Balance


My swing has become sharper with my current 650g bat, so I bought a bat of this weight made of a material that allows for greater distance.
This is my first purchase of a bat designed for M-size balls.

The surface has a bumpy, dimpled texture, and apparently, this type of bat will no longer be manufactured.
This bumpy, uneven surface seems like it would grip the ball really well.

After using it several times, I found it to be easy to swing while still providing considerable distance.
Despite its light weight of 650g, the distance and ball speed it produced were impressive, making it potentially the best bat I've ever purchased.
I'm the type of batter whose hits don't usually go very high, but with this bat, if I swing hard enough, the ball naturally goes up in the air.
The feel of the bat was firm, and it had a different feel from the Beyond series, more like a carbon bat.
If someone asks me which bat I should buy from this page, I would answer this bat.

 

summary

I'll write about how to choose a bat in another article, but the important thing is to consider, "What type of batter am I?"
Is he an average hitter, or a home run hitter?

I tend to be the former type, so I feel like choosing a bat that's designed for hitting home runs is the wrong approach.
Even if I use a heavy, powerful bat,I feel like a single hit might turn into a double at best, but a double will never turn into a home run.

Therefore, I think it's important to choose a bat that is lightweight and easy to swing, so that you can handle fast pitches.

A heavy bat is not suitable for fast pitches, but a light bat can handle both fast and slow pitches.
Don't overestimate your own strength; choose a bat that suits your body.

This is a summary page of articles I've written about amateur baseball.
A collection of articles on batting, fielding, and base running tips for beginners in amateur baseball.


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