The 12 Wood Bats of Christmas

On the 12th day of Christmas Phoenix Bats gave to me:

12 Pieces of Phoenix Bats gear, including hats, t-shirts and batting gloves.

11 Phiten necklaces, giving baseball players more body energy throughout a long season.

10 Days to try out any bat, as part of the Phoenix Challenge which gives you a full refund if you are not satisfied with the product.

9 Phoenix Bats gift cards, to stuff the stockings of all the baseball and softball lovers on your Christmas list.

8 Different types of wood bats, including a wide range of vintage bats that are the perfect piece of nostalgia for any big time baseball fan that remembers the golden age of the game.

7 Models of wood softball bats, offering the right amount of pop and control for all softball sluggers.

6 Custom wood bats, they come in orders of 3 and are hand-made offering any ballplayer the perfect balance out of his or her bat, and better results at the plate.

5 Fungo training bats, for the coach at Christmas that is looking for help on the practice field or a training tool in the batting cage.

4 Pieces of merchandise for one price, as part of a great Christmas deal, any model of maple bat, a pair of batting gloves and a Phiten necklace for $110!

3 Types of youth wood bats, for the beginner starting to swing a wood bat for the first time or the smaller slugger looking to move up in the wooden bat world.

2 Big Wood Bats! These heavy pieces of lumber are great training tools and can also offer that big bopper on your Christmas list an extra amount of pop at the plate.

And free shipping and engraving for all orders over $150!!!

Phoenix Bats can offer every holiday shopper a wide array of gift ideas that will be perfect for ballplayers of every shape, size and age. Phoenixbats.com has offers that will make you forget about heading out to the sporting goods store this holiday season with shopping and shipping deals that cannot be beat. The nostalgia of wood bats has met the internet age and is offering the best gifts for the sports fan in your family. Phoenix Bats wishes you and yours a happy holidays!

The 3 Most Popular Pro-Series Wood Bats for Baseball

Charles Trudeau, our founder, explains the difference between our 3 most popular wood bats for baseball. The BB71, R141 and the V243.

The BB71 is perfect if you’re just starting to swing a full-sized wood bat, coming up from our DR100 youth bat, or just wanting a little more bat speed. The BB71 is the lightest of the Phoenix wood bats, with a length-to-weight difference of -3. Rock maple, northern white ash, or our wood composite, the BB71 professional series wood baseball bat (known in other circles as the C271) is great for the singles and doubles hitter. It features a slightly flared handle transition in to the knob and a barrel that gives this wood bat nice pop to slap it in to the gaps.  It’s a really good fit for the prototypical lead-off, second and ninth hitter in the line-up.

Are you the type of wood bat player who can knock the baseball out of the park on occasion, but more often crushes line drives? Do you like a baseball bat that doesn’t have too much weight out in the barrel? If so, consider Phoenix Bats Professional Series R141 – our most versatile wood bat. It’s very evenly balanced throughout and is a great choice for the team during wood bat games. Known elsewhere as the T141, a maple, ash, or composite R141 bat helps delivers the gap shot that drives ‘em all in.

If you’re a power hitter and looking for a great wood bat to launch it in to the stands, try the V243 Professional Series wood baseball bat.  Being a bigger barreled wood bat, most of the weight is out at the end of the barrel. It was designed in such a way that it has been a very popular choice with our pro team’s equipment managers who order wood bats for their players. So whether you’ve heard it called the V243 or C243, you can’t go wrong with this bat now that you’ve assumed the role of team “Crusher.” All wood composite bat, maple bat, or ash bat, you’ll be able to step upto the plate having the confidence that with one swing of the V243, you can change the score.

These bats also make great Christmas gifts!  For the hard-to-please baseball player on your list, these wood bats will not disappoint.  Every wood bat is professional grade, and can be custom painted and engraved with a team name, player’s name or just an inspirational slogan.  Also, remember the Phoenix Challenge…your player can swing the bat for 10 days, and if he doesn’t like it, it’s a simple return – no questions asked!

Wood Bats vs. Metal Bats

You’ll hear several words thrown around in the argument over wood bats versus metal bats.  Performance, safety and affordability are just a few that I think are all relevant.  All of these words, when analyzed as part of this ongoing argument that continues to loom around the baseball and softball worlds, can be used as their own piece of the quarrel or utilized as separate bits of evidence that prove one way or the other, which is better for a novice or experienced ball player.  I have a case that uses each one of these words to support wood bats as the only choice for any baseball or softball slugger.

Performance – It is hard to argue that wood bats have a larger sweet spot or more potential bat head speed than anything that has been engineered out of some of the lightest substances in this world.  Titanium and aluminum do have more spring and weigh less than any piece of wood on the market.  However, since 1998 governing bodies all over the worlds of softball and baseball have been starting to put limits on the performance levels of metal bats.  Every year metal bat manufacturers come out with a new technology, increasing bat head speed and spring that in turn causes a line drive to fly toward pitchers and infielders at a more dangerous velocity and more often.  Wood bats continue to change with manufacturers increasing performance levels but no one is trying to create legislation that keeps these bats out of the hands of our young ball players.  This brings me to my next word.

Safety – The safety of young baseball and softball players has been in jeopardy ever since the technology of metal bats has taken off.  More injuries pop up each year and coincide with more and more calls for a ban on metal bats in youth, high school and college leagues.  The safety of wood bats has been called into question because of broken bats flying into the field of play and the stands.  Several studies have shown that wood bats break most often because of where the ball hits the barrel and pitch speed.  This has only been brought up as an issue in the major leagues where professionals are taking 100 live swings a week and the pitchers are all throwing at speeds above 90 miles-per-hour.  Metal bats have become dangerous for every player on the field, at every skill level, with every new model that a manufacturer puts on the market.  Although there is one issue with bat breakage that metal bat backers keep bringing up that I believe still plays into the hands of a wood bat revolution.

Affordability – The bottom line is that you could buy and break three wood bats before spending as much as you would for a nice metal bat.  A good metal bat will put you back about $300.  The best and most expensive pro-series, wood bat that Phoenix Bats sells is only $85.  The best and most expensive youth, wood bat that Phoenix Bats sells is only $50.  And even if you are not satisfied with the piece of lumber that Phoenix Bats sent your way the Phoenix Challenge will let you return it within 10 days for a full refund.  Plus a little known fact that people forget about with these light and thin walled metal bats that are out on the market is that they can dent, try replacing that for a minimal cost.

Future – The main word that needs to come up in any wood bat versus metal bat conversation is future.  The future of baseball and softball lies back at its origination with wood bats.  With every year there is another call for a ban on metal bats because the technology is out running the safety of young athletes and the pocket books of American parents.  These are calls to action that want purity and safety returned to theses games by making players swing wood bats.  And if you want to have a professional future in baseball you better start swinging lumber because the MLB is never going to approve the use of metal.

Best Hitting Tips

Behind every good hitter that has ever stepped onto a baseball or softball diamond there was a good coach, who at one point in time gave that hitter a priceless tip or two that made all the difference. It can be as simple as, “keep your chin up,” or as complicated as, “imagine you’re holding an egg in your back sided armpit and you don’t want to crush it.” I have heard several and each one has a central theme, making you a better hitter. But the frustrating part about teaching the art of hitting is that there is no universal tip that will translate to every hitter out there. The key is starting simple and make the refinement process one of central themes. Here is an outline of what I mean.

The simple start:
It may sound crazy but what I have found is that some of the best and simplest hitting lessons can be taught without a bat or a ball. The body is where the swing begins; it ends at the barrel of that perfect piece of lumber sending that ball over the fence. A hitter must first learn the right grip, stance and hip movement that leads to the perfect stroke before even worrying about what bat to swing or how to make contact. Here is a link to a set of drills that will get your young sluggers on the right track:

The best tip:
Now that you’ve got the early steps out of the way, and start to incorporate the ball and bat, the ball has to become the focus. If a hitter cannot keep their eye on the ball then all else is lost. Major league hitters who are in the zone always talk about the fact that during any hot streak they are seeing the ball better than ever. This starts with a coach who makes sure to repeat the phrase, “keep your eye on the ball,” until that white speck is nearly burned into your vision permanently. I found a drill that will test just how well you may or may not be seeing the ball, and improve your vision at the plate:

Perfecting your stroke:
While making contact is the hard part, being a successful game hitter is the really difficult part. You can find different swing tips from every coach on the planet. That is why every team in the big leagues has a hitting coach. There are however, a few central hitting themes that I believe separate the good hitters from the elite. The first and most important skill at the plate is being able to hit the ball the other way. This is an especially important skill for lefties who can’t seem to shake the fact that power only comes with pulling the ball. Hitting the ball to the opposite field will always keep the defense on their toes and take away any chance that you become a predictable hitter. Here is a good drill that can help any hitter develop this skill:

Another unique skill that can separate you from other hitters out there and make you a valuable addition to any team is the ability to switch hit. Most people think that this is a skill that only ambidextrous people can master, but it can be taught. Give this drill a try and see if it’s worth practicing for a few hours a day:

Watching the best:
To really refine your technique there is only one tool that can truly help, and that is a good example. Watching some of the best hitters in a game situation can show you the adjustments that sometimes need to be made to a perfect swing in order to get the job done at the plate. Sluggers who like to swing Phoenix Bats have several videos on the internet that show their silky smooth stroke in slow motion. Below are links to swings by big time hitters who happen to carry Phoenix Bats like Miguel Tejada, Miguel Cabrera and Vladamir Guerrero:

Cabrera

Tejada

Guerrero

In the end practice makes perfect. So grab your best Phoenix Bat and head to the cage, before you know it, you’ll be at the plate in the big leagues.

Pro Baseball Players – Who & Why Do They Swing Phoenix Bats?

All ball players dream of the day when they get to step to the plate in a professional game. But let’s stretch this dream a bit, take a step back, and go through the entire process of what it would be like to get an at bat in the big leagues. First you get that look from the manager who then, just like in the movies, points a boney finger in your direction near the end of the bench and says, “grab a bat, you’re on deck!” Now comes the part that not many players consider during their dreams of playing in the pros. What type of bat are you going to grab? We know it’s going to be wood, but will it be maple or ash, brown or black? We know one thing, if you dream of hitting a home run in your first big league at bat like All Star Hanley Ramirez did, your bat may be made by Phoenix.

Sluggers like Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera and Billy Butler have more in common than just heroics at the plate, each one carries a Phoenix Bat in his bag. Since Phoenix Bats was approved for big league use in 2000 more players have added a Phoenix to their selection in the bat rack. Other heroes that you may see rake a walk-off hit with a Phoenix Bat include rising star Jake Fox, and veterans like Alfonso Soriano, Darrin Erstad, Miguel Tejada or Elijah Dukes. The Northern White Ash that we use is perfect for a huge sweet spot that can help spray hitters like Erstad and Tejada continue to be productive in the pros. The Rock Maple can help big boppers like Guerrero and Butler get the pop they need for big home runs.

We have also made our mark on minors with some of the games hot, up and coming hitters swinging Phoenix Bats exclusively. Lars Anderson, a top 5 prospect in all of baseball, is just waiting for his first at bat in Fenway Park and will most likely be using one of our pieces of lumber at that moment. Anderson says that Phoenix Bats, “have a consistent balance, pop and feel that is superior to just about every bat I’ve used,” and he carries Maple and Ash models.

This means that we can deliver any bat that can help you get one step closer to your baseball dreams. We use the highest quality wood for big and little leaguers alike. Any bat you choose can be customized to your swing and returned within 10 days of purchase if it doesn’t fit, thanks to the Phoenix Challenge.

How to Choose the Wood Baseball Bat that Fits Your Hitting Style

What kind of hitter do you want to be? You can take a big step toward that goal by starting with the right piece of lumber in your hands. Whether you want to be someone who drives the ball into the power allies, a contact junkie knocking it all around the park, a softball slugger or a big league bopper, it starts with the right wood bat. It’s all a matter of options.  Wood bats not only provide the purest form of baseball and the only baseball bat allowed in the big leagues but they give you more options than any piece of aluminum or graphite on the planet. The right wood bat can be the tool that takes your plate production to the next level.

Let’s start with the type of wood. This feature has been linked to the hot topic of an increasing number of broken bats in all kinds of wooden bat leagues. Some experts have linked this issue to a player selecting the bat material that fits his or her hitting style. If you are looking for more pop, any Phoenix model made out of Rock Maple is the way to go. Phoenix White Ash bats provide a huge sweet spot for all you spray hitters out there. We have also seen the future of this industry and started making all-wood composite bats that offer power, strength and longevity.

The most important option is the balance of the bat, finding the perfect proportion of length to weight. This feature is where broken bats may come from. A player must truly know what he or she is looking for when it comes to shape and size, in order to keep cracking the sweet spot and not the barrel.

The industry standard wood bats typically weigh between 2 to 4 ounces less than the number of inches the bat is long. The -3 ratio (30”-27ozs.), for example, is standard on most Phoenix Bats. However, the height, weight and strength of the hitter plays the biggest factor in balance. Finding the right ratio can be done with one afternoon at the batting cages. If you need more bat speed you may have to move closer to the plate, sacrificing length and barrel width. The opposite goes for stronger hitters that need more range at the plate. No matter what your comfortable ratio may be, Phoenix also produces custom bats perfect for your power or contact swing.

Comfort is the key and one should not select a bat without swinging it at some live pitching, which is why you should take the Phoenix Challenge. You can try any bat we make and return it within 10 days if you are not completely satisfied. Find the right fit and start driving in runs.

Check out our helpful bat selection guide here.  Whether you are a baseball, softball, youth or vintage baseball player, this guide will help you find the perfect wood bat to elevate your game.

In Defense of Maple Bats: A Letter to Wilbon & Kornheiser @ ESPN

Dear Mr Wilbon & Mr Kornheiser,

I am GM of Phoenix Bats, a pro approved wood baseball bat manufacturer since 2000. As part of our business, we provide maple and ash bats to numerous major and minor league players and teams. The majority of our players choose maple.

We believe the uptick in maple bat breakage, if statistically significant, is primarily attributed to the fact that some players are requesting bigger barrels and thinner handles. This is a simple equation that does not work. The redistribution of weight to the barrel is putting significant additional stress on the handle, creating a much greater chance for breakage.

Major League Baseball addressed part, but not all, of this issue. They only put a minimum handle dimension requirement on the books (still too small) and then grandfathered in models that were in use. They also have manufacturers placing the engraving and logo on the opposite side of where it had been for years. If players truly changed and are hitting on the grains recommended (unlikely as they know where the strongest part of the bat is), bats will break more often, just not with as much intensity as they would be hitting on the weaker area of the bat.

Secondarily, we believe that some wood being accepted by certain manufacturers is having an impact. We’ve seen some wood for players that we shake our head at, the most glaring being a bat for one of the most recognized Boston players. The unseen issue comes from wood that’s too dry or dries too fast. That will also lead to bat breakage much faster. We suspect one method of drying is causing the wood to dry too quickly, impacting the cellular structure of the bat. MLB did work to address wood quality with manufacturers, but did not address the moisture content.

While there is nothing inherently unsafe about maple bats (in use for many years now), the safety problem should be solved by regulating the handle/barrel dimensions. Addressing wood quality issues is more difficult than bat dimensions/specifications. Thus, we recommend addressing dimensions first and then wood quality if desired results are not obtained.

A maple ban will force manufacturers to come up with other acceptable woods, which will likely exhibit similar characteristics due to specifications being requested. At best, these other bats will still break as often, increasing the cost of team operations, while minimally impacting safety.

With a ban, demand for ash bats will increase, regardless of other woods available. Unfortunately, the Emerald Ash borer, a presently unstoppable bug, is destroying ash trees at an alarming pace. The wood expert we work with, who brokers for the largest wood supplier in the nation, expects ash to disappear at some point within the next 5-10 years, without the impact of a maple ban take in to account.

We feel MLB has taken some positive steps, and with some additional tweaks/changes can insure that maple remains a viable wood that’s used by the majority of major league players. Of note, besides the Elijah Dukes bat incident, the most noticeable broken bat incident that occurred so far this year was when an umpire was struck by a broken bat—an ash bat.

I appreciate you taking the time to read our take. Hopefully the info above can continue to contribute to the debate and people’s understanding of the issue.

Respectfully,

Seth Cramer

General Manager
Phoenix Bat Company

A Behind the Scenes Look at the Making of a Wood Baseball Bat by Phoenix Bats

For the last 10 years, we’ve been scoring big with amateurs and professionals alike with the production of our premium wood bats. From a garage, making old-fashioned bats for vintage baseball teams, we have grown into a leading custom wood bat manufacturer, literally “turning out” the market’s highest quality bats from our special Italian lathe. We’ve perfected the process and are excited to give you a sneak peek into the complete journey of a Phoenix bat.

Making the country’s best wood bats doesn’t start at the lathe, but in the dense forests of Pennsylvania and upstate New York, where ash trees are prized for their strength. A minimum of sixty years of growth are required to bring an ash tree to the preferred trunk diameter of ~36 inches, and each tree yields approximately 60 bats.

Step 1: Inspect and Sort

As soon as the premium woods arrive at our shop, they are hand inspected and sorted and every piece is weighed to establish its quality. In these beginning stages, we also measure the straightness of the grain from end to end, all of which determines what wood will be used for our vintage, youth, adult, game or trophy bats.

Step 2: Cut and Sand

After the initial grading process, the unformed wood goes into the second stage of production. Our precision Italian lathe, called a Locatelli lathe, is the most advanced model in the bat industry and we’re the only manufacturer in the world to have it. Our lathe cuts the raw wood into a bat with exact dimensions and not only does it perform with amazing precision, it automatically sands as well, providing a one-of-a-kind feature. At Phoenix Bats, we use this sophisticated piece of machinery on every single bat that leaves our shop.

Once our bats come off the lathe, we remove the ends and, if needed, the bat is cupped. Not every bat is cupped, just those that need a little weight taken off. Because professional bats need to meet certain weight requirements, we scoop out a portion of the bat’s top. Our cup is narrower than most manufacturers, providing better stability to the wall surrounding the cup.

Step 3: Finishing Touches

After a bat is formed and meets with our stringent specifications, the finishing process begins. Bat handles are submerged into the finishing compound, which determines its color and the process is repeated with the bat’s barrel. Next, it’s coated with a clear sealant and finishing touches are added including a ring around the middle to hide the color transition between the handle and barrel. Then it’s time to add our decal and personalized player engraving.

The next Phoenix bat is now out the door and, of course, we hope to see it on baseball diamonds everywhere. The real secret in making wood bats with the best feel and largest sweet spot is our love of the game and our attention to detail from start to finish.

Turning raw wood into great game bats makes all of us at Phoenix Bats feel like we are part of baseball’s rich history and exciting future. Manufacturing quality bats, doing what you love and giving players better tools to raise their game is truly the best possible gig.

Interested in booking a tour to see how a bat is made from start to finish? Tours are conducted by appointment and are $10 per person. This includes a custom engraved mini bat to commemorate your visit. To schedule a tour please contact tours@phoenixbats.com or call 877.598.2287 (614.873.7776 in the Columbus area).

Phoenix Bats

The Phoenix Bat Company, located just outside Columbus, Ohio, has been making premium rock maple and white ash bats for over 10 years. Born out of a craftsman’s garage, Phoenix now produces bats out of a state of the art, custom bat manufacturing shop. Here, we produce all our bats on the premiere lather in the industry, the next version up from what that “little” company down in Louisville uses only for their major league pro players. Coupled with the use of only premium grade woods, we deliver the highest quality bat consistently, from bat-to-bat, year-to-year, to all our customers.