Best baseball bat and catcher's glove for 11 year old all star player

by Diane
(Bennington, VT)

What does the -10, -11, -12 etc. mean? My kid is about 80 pounds,4' 10" . I think he's ready for a good bat, but I'm not sure what size to get for him. Thank you. Also what would be a good catcher glove size for him, he will need a new one soon, but his old one does not have a size that I can see on it.

Baseball Equipment Review's Answer
April 12, 2010

Diane,

Thank you for the question. I'm going to provide you with some links below, and if you click on them and make a purchase I will make a commission. I always disclose that just to be clear.

First of all, the -10, -11, -12, etc. is the difference between the bat's length in inches, and the bat's weight in ounces. For instance, a 32 inch/29 oz bat would have a -3 "drop" as it's called.

For the bat size, I recommend checking out my page on Baseball Bat Size.

The bat depends on whether or not you are wanting the "best bat" or a solid performer, but more affordable. I recommend a couple of youth bats.

The "best youth bat" (according to my surveys) is the B2 from Combat. It is probably known as the hottest performing bat in youth baseball, and it will cost you $200-250. Baseball Express is no longer selling the youth model, so if you aren't using big barrel bats yet, you may be able to special order a youth model from your local sporting goods store.

If you are looking to go with a more affordable but good option, I recommend the Omaha from Louisville. It's a bit cheaper, but is also a good bat that has had a good reputation over the last several years.

For the catcher's glove, I would just recommend going to the local sporting goods store and just trying a few of them on that are similar in size to the one he has. Or if catcher is his primary position, you may want to look into a bit of a bigger size since it will last him a while and he'll grow into it. If you can't find any that fit there, here are some youth catcher's gloves at Baseball Express that you may want to check out.

I hope this all helped a little. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Brandon
Baseball Equipment Review