New prep baseball rule drives coaches, players batty

For a baseball player, a good bat is like a pair of old slippers – comfortable and reliable.

Just ask McClatchy High School's Jared James.

Like many of his area prep baseball brethren this season, he had to purchase a new bat after the CIF banned his old one.

The decision came a year earlier than expected and left many coaches and players questioning how it would affect the game.

"It was a downer for me at first," said James, a hard-hitting junior outfielder and son of former major leaguer Dion James. "I was using a Louisville Slugger EXO. I used it for two years, and it had a lot of boom in it and did big things for me.

DeMarini Baseball Bats - Reviews of the 2011 Bat Lineup

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The baseball bats DeMarini 2011 have not changed a hell of a lot of full line 2010. But it seems there are improvements to many of them. Programming this year includes several pieces of composite and hybrid models 2.

The ST is a continuation of CF4 CF4 in the last year. There is a 1-piece, all-composite, loaded fine model. It is designed to collapse and reduce the impact. DeMarini 2X said composite material Trace money making it stronger and stiffer than last year's model.This is also supposed to create a large hitting area, increasing the strength of the bat toward the handle.