FAQ's
Matt's Bat wood baseball bat recommendations are here help you chose the right wood, weight, model, and finishing to make sure you get the most durable custom wood bat with the best performance possible!
WOOD TYPE- We offer ash and maple custom wood bats and both are an amazing option for your player. Each bat has unique qualities for performance and finishing.
MAPLE: Maple is known for it's hardness and has diffused porous grains which prevent the bat from flaking. This is a great type of wood for any player looking to get a lot of swings in during the off season because of it's durable reputation. This is also our most popular game bat. Maple finishes best with paint as it offers a clean smooth finish.
ASH: Ash is also a hard wood that is known for the flexibility of the bat because of the ringed porous grain structure. Ash wood can have more trampoline effect 'pop" than maple and is a great piece of wood for performance. This wood finishes best with flame tempering as the grains darken while the rest of the wood stays lighter.
BAT MODELS- When purchasing a wood baseball bat you might notice some writing on the barrel that says numbers such as: 271, 110, 243 etc These are bat models that have different profiles creating difference weight distributions. We can make any bat model but if you are not sure you can type in power or contact hitter on your order and we will make our most popular bat models that have a closer weight distribution to what your player is used to.
BARREL DIAMETER- I get a lot of request for 2 5/8inch barrels diameters for youth players which is a massive barrel for a wood baseball bat. I would not recommend this type of barrel for a youth player because the wood is not hollow like a metal baseball bat. If you want a large barrel with a lighter weight bat you will end up with a very weak piece of wood. The lighter the wood the weaker the wood. The weight distribution of the bat would be very top heavy and most kids don't like the feel of that type of barrel. Most popular barrel diameters from Junior High up to Pro is 2 1/2 inches. Youth players up to 10 years old is between 2 1/4 inch to 2 1/2 inch which offers a great feel that the players can still get stronger with but not be so top heavy that they can't control it.
CUPPING- Cupping can take off about .4 ounces from the head of the bat which helps balance the bat more. Some players like to feel a bit more head weight that makes the bat whip through the zone and some players like a bit more balanced of a bat. Cupping is where the end of the bat is bored out into a small bowl shape. Both cupping and rounded are great options depending on what feel your player likes.
SIZING/ WEIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS- Weight recommendations are very important for purchasing wood baseball bats because of durability. The lighter the wood the weaker the wood. Here are my recommendations from my experience that will help you minimize the risk of breakage.
7and Under- drop 9 to drop 8
8-10 years old- drop 7 to drop 6
11-12 years old- drop 5 to drop 3
13-16 years old- drop 3
16 and older- drop 3 to drop 2
WARRANTY- We all know that wood baseball bats can break and we take every measure in purchasing the best split wood and straightest grains to minimize the risk. We do offer a warranty as you proceed to checkout for an additional $15 that is good for 30 days from the day the bat is delivered. Most companies warrantied bats cost twice as much as our bats with the same wood quality. Instead of doubling the price we are leaving the warranty option up to the customer. Without the warranty there will be no replacements of wood bats.
FINISHING OPTIONS- Matt's Bat Custom Wood Baseball Bats offers a variety of finishing options including, stains, paints, dyes, flame tempering, clear coating and much more. We offer custom logos and name lines to personalized your wood bat. We leave the design to the customer so you are not limited to what you can do however there is a process to what can work. For example a stained logo can't go on a stained bat. A stained logo can go on a painted bat. A black logo may not work on a black bat. Email us your design ideas before ordering and we will be happy to make sure your request will work.