You don't have to pay that much for them, I have seen them as cheap as $40.00.

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they for the most part are standardized. they set the limits and bat manufacturers build equipment around those limits. easton's though you are paying for name recognition and the warranty on the bat. thats why they are so high. you can pick up a combat sub 100 bucks that will hang just as much as the eastons.

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Elections have consequences.

I could buy a wood bat about 20 years ago when I was playing for $20-$25.

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and those are the ones getting shattered by an 85mph fastball.

I'm talking for little kids primarily. I bought a wood bat for $22 bucks.

There should be standardized aluminum bats that MIMIC wood, not turn the game into russian roulette.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

They all will get shattered, but I know what you are saying.

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Sure, does everybody where the same lighter cleats, lighter jerseys etc.....Do you give them all the nicer gloves?[/quote]

those other items are de minimis advantage, if any at all

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

those other items are de minimis advantage, if any at all[/quote]
Well then I wish you well on finding a league that everybody plays with the same equipment.

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GEORGE: Hey, Buck. Talk to you for a second?

SHOWALTER: Sure, George.

GEORGE: How's everything going? Everything O.K.?

SHOWALTER: Well, all of a sudden there's a problem with Tartabull's swing...

GEORGE: Listen, Buck, I uh...obviously I don't need to talk to you about the importance of player morale, but uh...I've been talking to some of the guys, and some of them - I don't want to mention any names - but some of them...they're not too happy with the polyester uniforms.

SHOWALTER: How so?

GEORGE: Well, they get very hot in the polyester. You know, it's not a natural fiber. I think they would prefer cotton.

SHOWALTER: Cotton, huh?

GEORGE: Yeah. Cotton breathes, you see, it's much softer. Imagine playing games and your team is five degrees cooler than the other team. Don't you think that would be an advantage? They're cooler, they're more comfortable...they're happier - they're gonna play better.

SHOWALTER: You may have something there, George.

GEORGE: Oh - I've got something.

SHOWALTER (considering): Hmm. Cotton uniforms.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

i told my kid this year that this was the last bat I'm buying for him (although hearing he will need a drop 3 for HS makes me think i will probably hook him up with one to get him off on the right foot) - if he wants to go "high-end" in high school he is on his own. as far as mitts go, we bought him a very nice wilson mitt (roughly $150) that he will be able to use as long as he takes care of it. like the bat, i told him if he wants something newer and high-end, he will have to take care of that. we made sure to buy him a real good mitt that will last him the rest of his life this last time around.

I never owned a bat growing up. Always used a teammates.

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thats a great idea. next door neighbors girl plays 12u softball. 3 girls parents went in on 4 bats. 1 nice one for games and each a bp bat. saved each roughly 100 bucks.

plus by the time the kid has outgrown the bat, its best years are still ahead of it as composites get hotter the more used they are. If you watch the LLWS they are all swinging the same 2or3 bats. the bats are continually getting beter and better the more they are used.

it doesn't make sense to have each kid have their own bat unless those kids are braking their composites.

Doesn't each team for Little League have the equipment bag? Why does anyone need their own bat?

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I highly recommend Rip-It bats, American made. Way better than those over hyped Easton bats you see in the LLWS. My son used his Rip-It bat all year for 13U (drop 5), and it was great. Very nice sweet spot.

http://www.ripit.com/

Standardizing bats would be like standardizing golfs clubs and tennis rackets. It might level the playing field but at the expense of personal preference for equipment.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Kids use different lengths and weights as well as having a preference for one type over another.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I don't give a fuck about leveling the playing field. I care primarily about safety and secondly returning the amatuer game to something that resembles baseball as it was created and thankfully has survived for 150 years in the professional ranks.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Also, I know the Little Leagues by me have gone away from furnishing equipment, expense and to many of the kids have their own stuff.

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That's not the way it is anymore. Mothers did away with shared helmets under some unsubstantiated fear of the spread of lice. Fathers did away with shared bats under some unsubstantiated belief that their kid is a superstar. I think some people even buy their own catching gear.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Yes, most of the kids that I know that catch have their own gear.

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our 11-12 and 13-14 leagues tried a system of providing 3 bats per team for each game of varying lengths and weights for each game. these bats were NOT available during practices, but all kids had to use them during the games. the outrage was so significant after 2 years of this that they dropped it, and now kids can use any bat they want as long as it meets the drop 5 specification. the problem was that the 3 bats provided did not meet the needs of every kid (at least in the eyes of the kids and the parents), the lengths and weights didn't work for everyone. also, several of the bats "walked away" during the year, coaches and kids complained about not having them available for practice, blah blah blah. eventually the league commisioner gave up on it and allowed kids to use the bats of their choice. each team was provided a collection of team practice bats that were in various stages of deterioration. by the time my kid hit the 13-14 league, you didn't need team bats anyway, each kid had his own gear and they all share them between themselves anyway. this is a regular municipal league, not a travel league, but by the time a kid is 14 most of the time they have a bat bag FULL of gear and they don't need to use league-supplied items anymore.

i have no misguided notion that my kid will advance any further than high school ball, but my kid loves to play, so yeah, i had no problem buying him a bat that allows the ball to jump a little better and give him a chance to get some extra hits and enjoy the ride while he can, as long as the bat is within the rules. i don't think that is unreasonable or means me or any other father that does the same has some kind of misguided thoughts of my kid being a superstar.

lots of truth here. On our 9 & 10 yr old softball team one dad bought his daughter her own catcher gear. And all the girls have their own bats, and one girl was not allowed to share her bat with any teammates.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

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right there with you hawg. At the end of the games I always tried to make sure to toss that bat around a little while we picked up the dugout.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Hell yeah, and if anything needed beating into the ground I know which bat I would have used.

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I coached up to 5 years ago, and they still had league purchased equipment. We probably had up to 6-8 bats of various length/weight.

It's insane for a parent to have to purchase catching gear.

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Well I can assure I am not making that up.

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