Choosing the Right Softball Bat

Feeling confident stepping into the batter’s box and swinging to the fences begins with your choice of bat.

Before your season starts, there are three criteria to consider when choosing a softball bat: length, weight and drop.

All of these can affect your swing, so be sure to know how and what to look for in each design.

LENGTH

Just like finding the right size glove and cleats are essential, finding the right length softball bat is also important. There are three ways to measure whether a bat is the right length:

1. Place the bat knob at the center of your chest and extend the barrel out toward your fingertips. If you can touch the end of the bat with your fingertips, the bat is an appropriate size.

2. Place the bottom knob of the bat in the center of your chest facing outward. If you are able to reach out and grab the barrel of the bat, then it is an appropriate length.
   

3. Stand the bat up vertically against your leg. If the bat reaches your mid-hip, it should be a suitable length.
   

WEIGHT

Bat weight can vary among models, and it’s really up to your preferences. If you’re a stronger player, you can probably get away with swinging a heavier bat.

"Make sure that it’s not too heavy and that you can swing it nice and evenly," says Jen Schroeder, a softball tech rep at DICK'S Sporting Goods, "for me, I’m six-foot so I like to swing something that’s a little heavier."

Remember, though, that you want to have efficient bat speed at the plate, and a swinging a softball bat that’s too heavy for you can hinder your performance.

A good test to see if you can handle a certain bat weight is to hold the bat with one hand, with your arm extended from your side, for 30 seconds. If you can keep the bat extended without dropping it, you should be able to properly swing that weight.

DROP

The drop is the difference between length and weight. A lesser drop will indicate a heavier bat, which may be too much to handle at the plate.

"If you’re like me, maybe you’d want a drop 9. If you’re a little bit smaller, and like to swing a bat that’s more evenly weighted, maybe you’d like a drop 10," says Schroeder.

Take your length and weight numbers from before and try to find a bat with similar measurements to fit your needs.

Finding the right softball bat could help enhance your at-bat performance. Keeping these tips in mind can help in making sure the bat you choose will be a home run.