Baseball Bat Weight By Age: Why On-Deck Donuts Are No Good

Baseball bat weight can mean 2 different things:

1 ) The correct weight of the bat for your child

2 ) A weight you attach to a bat for training or preparation

The Correct Baseball Bat Weight and Length

There are 3 steps to choosing the bat weight.

You must get both the bat length and weight correct or else your child will develop bad swing habits such as dropping the bat or trying to uppercut the ball.

1 ) Verify Length First

The first step to choosing the right baseball bat is to refer to our baseball bat size chart and determine the correct length

2 ) Choose the Correct Bat Drop

Bats come in different bat drops which is the difference between the length of a bat and its weight

For example, -10 (Drop 10) means if a bat is 28 inches long, then the weight is 18 ounces.

Refer to our guide if you don’t know what a baseball bat drop is.

3 ) Choose the Correct Weight

Now that you know the correct bat drop you can choose the weight.

For example:

If your child 12 years old and needs a 31 inch long bat they should be using:

31 inch bat that is 23 ounces (drop 8)

Personal Advice

If your child is not that big, it is better to go shorter and lighter than the chart.

One of the easiest way to develop bad swing habits is to use a bat that a child cannot handle.

This is super important for younger kids between 5 – 10 years old when their muscle memories are really developing.

So when in doubt, go shorter and lighter.

Never go heavier!

Baseball Bat Weight Tools

There are also many weights that you can attach to a baseball bat and you use them to train or when you’re about to hit on the on deck circle.

Here are some common ones you see

Donuts

You put these onto the end of the bat

Bat Sleeves

You slide these onto the entire barrel of the bat to make it heavier.

Purpose of these Weights

The purpose of these is to make a normal baseball bat seem light by swinging with these weights on.

It’s like running with ankle weights on.

How to Use These Weighted Tools

Here is how to use them:

1 ) Slide the tool onto barrel and take practice swings.

2 Take them off when it’s your turn to hit and your normal bat will seem light.

Pro and Cons

There are pros and cons to these weights especially for younger kids.

Pros

There are a few advantages

1 ) Game Bat Feels Lighter

The obvious advantage is that once you swing with a weight the normal bat seems very light.

This is only temporary feeling though if you just use them when you’re on deck.

After a few minutes your normal bat will seem normal again

2 ) Develops Bat Strength and Bat Speed If Used for Training

If you train with bat weights throughout the week then over time your muscles will get stronger and your child’s bat speed will increase.

Cons

These weighted tools can also create more harm than good!

These are important things you must be aware of especially for kids under 12 years old.

Creates Bad Swing Mechanics

I’ve seen many kids take bad swings (dropping hands or doing a big loopy swing) because the bat weight makes the bat too heavy.

It’s the same reason why younger kids should avoid using heavy bats.

If your child does use these bat weights make sure they’re doing it with a coach’s supervision so they don’t create bad muscle memory.

Remember bad swing mechanics will cancel any benefit your child gets from increased strength and bat speed.

Alternative to Donuts and Bat Sleeves

I do NOT like these tools for young kids (5 – 12 years old) and here’s why.

These accessories tend to make the bat very end loaded (heavy at the end) just like if you attached a heavy weight to the end of a fishing pole.

I purchased a donut and a heavy bat sleeve but stopped using them because I found that they were making my boys drop their hands and develop bad swing mechanics due to the weight.

Baseball Hands Trainer Bats

Instead of weights I had them use a hands trainer bat such as the Camwood.

Other companies such as Warstic also make them.

I like these training bats because the weight iswas distributed closer to the hands and this would make them take a straighter path to the ball instead of dropping their hands.

My boys have been practicing with these since they were 7 years old and it’s helped them a lot.

They’re far better for swing mechanics and you can also use them when your child is in the on deck circle.

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About Simon Chan