TURN ON ONE – Swing Training Platform
TURN ON ONE - Available at www.nustarzsports.com #baseball swing platform
“I Swing Marucci”
Andrew McCutchen: "I Swing Marucci" For more information on Marucci and Marucci Products visit www.maruccisports.com
The Marucci Story
The Marucci Story as told by Larry King. For more information on Marucci and Marucci Products visit www.maruccisports.com
What Wood Bat is the Best
The age old question gets brought up and discussed daily here at Better Baseball. With multiple combinations of wood type it can be a daunting task to make a decision as to which baseball bat is right for you. We are going to give everyone a breakdown of what we think is the most popular, why and how working with wood can make anyone a better overall hitter.
 First we are going to talk about the different kinds of wood varieties available. The two most popular wood types in Major League Baseball are ash and maple. Ash is a porous wood type with a light swing weight and wide grains. It was the most popular bat until Barry Bonds broke the home run record using maple (and steroids). Maple is tight grained and rock hard, often bone rubbed to become smooth and is the choice for majority of pro ball players. We like the Marucci line. Birch comes in a distant third but is rising in popularity. Louisville Slugger has some pretty nice models available. Birch is hard like maple, but swings light like ash. Sounds like best of both worlds to us. Bamboo bats are great for training, because they are extremely durable in comparison to any other bat type. They aren’t the best to use in gameplay, but they are great for practice. Another extremely popular option for high school ball players is composite wood. Composite wood uses multiple materials to form a durable bat that typically has great pop as well. Our personal favorite is the Baum Bat. Other bat types include beechwood, hickory (super heavy) and guayaibi (from South merica’).
 So here’s a quick break down of the top wood varieties and their qualities thanks to our friends at WhatprosWear.com
 
So how does swinging wood make you a better hitter? Quite simply it’s not as easy as swinging metal. A metal bat typically has a light swing weight and a huge sweet spot. Not the case with wood. Not only are wood bats typically heavier, they are also very unforgiving. You take a ball off the end of a wood bat your hands will be stinging and letting you know that you didn’t hit the ball on the barrel properly. This is a lesson that you don’t soon forget and it hopefully leads to better contact with the proper portion of the hitting surface. If you take an inside pitch off the handle it’s going to sting and likely break your bat. This teaches the hitter to get around quickly and square up pitches or not only will their hands be stung their wallet will also be hit when they have to replace their broken bat.
 Wood bats have a great sound and are a lot of fun to play with. Anyone who has participated in a wood bat tournament will agree. If you haven’t tried playing with a wood bat take a look at our selection and get you one! It will make you a better hitter 100% guaranteed.
Best Baseball Bats for Little Leaguers
Some of the most well-known baseball players in the world began their journey in Little League Baseball. Not only are these talented young athletes taught how to play baseball effectively, but also how to properly use and choose baseball equipment – which is just as important. Having good equipment is essential, and the primary piece of equipment is a high quality bat. Little Leaguers have access to many of the great bats out there, but choosing the right brand can be a difficult decision. Below, we’ve listed a few of the brands with phenomenal baseball bats that are great for Little Leaguers. If you caught this year’s Little League World Series, you probably saw some of these bats in action (if you missed it, check out the sports DIRECT TV deals that offer expanded ESPN coverage so you don’t miss a pro or amateur baseball game).
 Easton
 Easton has thrived in the midst of many baseball brands by creating top notch equipment to protect and better the baseball games of young players. Their bats are well-known for being equipped with plenty of new technology that strives to revolutionize the batting game. For example, the 2015 Easton Mako TORQ Youth Barrel Bat offers a 360 degree twisting handle which provides batters with more options for maneuvering. Although Easton is one of the more expensive brands, it is one of the few worth the extra cost. Easton will be looking to become the next top bat on the baseball scene, especially with their newest line of bats expected to release next year.
 Rawlings
 Although Rawlings is one of the older brands, it is still among the go-to bats for players of all ages. Bats like the Rawlings-10 Youth Bat and the Rawlings Mach-10 offer Little Leaguers durability and reliability, which are two necessary qualities in any bat. Rawling bats continue to improve year after year, most recently with their 2015 line of bats. Rawlings is in the same price range as most other reputable brands, but offers a broader selection which includes various designs.
 Combat
 Combat is another brand that offers spectacular design, technology and material. This bat brand is said to be for the elites, and those claims are proven correct with the Combat Wanted Youth Barrel- 10. Equipped with lightweight construction and Handle Isolation Technology, this is the perfect bat for swinging for the fences. Combat bats have done wonders for players of all ages and the brand is hailed as producing the world’s best all around bats.
 Louisville Slugger
 The Louisville Slugger is an older, reliable brand that still demands the attention of many players today. Little Leaguers love it because of its swing effect, one-piece construction and superior grip technology. The brand also has a great history behind it, which dates back 120 years. Since its beginning, the Slugger has remained relevant amongst the batting brands for both adults and youth. For Little Leaguers, the Louisville Assault Coach Pitch-10 is a wise choice, along with its successor, the Louisville Slugger Omaha 515 Coach Pitch-10.
 With so many brands of baseball bats on the market, the decision regarding which to buy is always going to be challenging, but these 4 brands all produce excellent, trustworthy equipment that is guaranteed to be effective. The Little League season may be coming to an end for now, but it’s never too late to pick up the finest baseball equipment.
Why Baseball is so Good For You
Baseball is a terrific sport for all the family and it offers both vigorous and moderate exercise to help combat disease and ensure the heart gets a healthy dose of stimulation. It works on many muscles and also develops hand-eye coordination. Baseball is also a social sport, so it helps you to make friends with others who have the same interest, and at the same time you get a terrific workout.
 Cardiovascular Training
 Baseball is the perfect way to burn calories and to give your heart the cardiovascular exercise it needs. Any exercise that works up a sweat and makes your heart pump faster counts as cardiovascular and government recommendation advises that adults need 2 and a half hours of cardio work out each week. Baseball demands running, whether it’s between bases or to catch a ball, and this is the cardiovascular exercise we need.
 Baseball is a fairly aerobic sport and this means that it can combat heart disease, because of the demands on the field. If you are pitching or in the outfield, your heart will be pumping the blood around your body and this is a good solid exercise regime for you, whatever your fitness level is. The sport also needs prep exercise in the form of stretches and jogging, and this alone will warm your body up and benefit you health-wise.
 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that doing two types of physical activity every week will keep you fit and healthy and strengthen your muscles. You can spread your activity out over the week, rather than do it all at once and 10 minutes at a time is fine, but if you choose baseball as an exercise, this will occupy you for a significant proportion of your 2 and a half hours and, because it’s such an enjoyable sport, you won’t be clock watching at all. CDC explain that it’s all about what’s best for you as an individual, as long as you invest in moderate or vigorous activity for at least 10 minutes at a time, and avoid becoming addicted to what you are doing, you will benefit from a healthy lifestyle.
 Muscular Development
 Throwing a ball is one of the important skills of baseball and if it’s done routinely, it will develop the bicep muscles as well as other muscles in your arm. Pitchers will find a definite improvement in muscle tone by playing this sport. Running around the bases and running to catch a field ball will build up your leg muscles too, leading to great muscle definition and good health all round. Professional baseball players will tend to be lean and will be able to run distances in a short time frame. Whatever level you are at and even if you just enjoy getting together with friends and family for a fun game every now and then, you will reap the rewards of a baseball session and you will feel the benefits in your body.
 Baseball improves the upper body strength as well as developing leg muscles because of the energetic sprinting involved in the sport. You will find yourself burning calories; for example a person weighing 160 pounds might burn as much as 365 calories through just one hour of baseball.
 Baseball is good for the Mind
 Psychologically, when you are playing a game of baseball you are concentrating on the game intensely and even when you are following the game, particularly on radio, you need to build up a sense of who is playing and who might be up next, leading to greater memory recall. We need to mentally process information about the rules of the game, as well as updating information about a particular striker and who is injured etc. The mind is important when it comes to exercise such as baseball and other sports; we enjoy becoming wholly absorbed by an activity and this is good for our health. However some people become addicted psychologically to exercise and need to be cautious about overdoing sports in terms of physical stamina, as this will affect concentration on other aspects of life and have a negative impact on ones social life. So, whilst all sport is good for us physically and can be good for us mentally too, a level of moderation is needed so that we avoid becoming addicted.
 The great thing about baseball is that it’s such a social sport that we tend to share the way we watch it with friends and family and if we play it, we have the opportunity of meeting new people and forming new relationships through our love of this sport.
 Baseball is good for the health and good for the soul.
 This post was contributed by Jennifer Ullman.