DeMarini Softball Bat Review

Background for my DeMarini softball bat review. I'm one of those so-called weekend warriors. I play recreation softball in a city league with my church team. Recently we got moved up from Lower D to Upper D and started having our lunch handed to us. The other teams were wacking the ball over our heads and they all had one of these DeMarini softball bats.

We decided to chip in and buy a DeMarini softball bat because all the teams that were killing us had one. So the logical conclusion was we need one of these bats. If we had one it would help the ball sail over the other teams heads like it had been with us.

So we all chip in, and we get the 2010 34" 30oz DeMarini White steel bat. it is advertised as "The first steel-barreled bat in the world, the White Steel combines an Evolution composite handle with a genuine steel barrel. Towering above all other singlewall sluggers for performance, feel and durability, it is - hands-down - the hottest and toughest bat for ASA singlewall play."

The Big DeMarini Day

The bat arrives and we have a double header. Nice time to get a good number of swings in with the new bat. First a little about the bat I use. It is an old Easton with the paint chipped at the end. I bought it for $30 about 15 years ago at a second hand sports store. It does not intimidate anyone.

First the specs on the bat: 

Finally I got a few swings.  Here's what I thought;

1. Bat was lighter than it weight
2. Great Balance
3. Very thin Handle
4. Weighted toward the barrel end

Finally I got some swings in BP with the new bat.  Here's what I found, the bat was not as forgiving if you did not hit it in the sweet spot but if you did, the DeMarini White steel bat put a charge in the ball.  I probably got an extra 10 to 15 feet on balls hit in the sweet spot. 

Here's the trade-off, the DeMarini White steel definitely has some pop...but you have to hit it in the sweet spot. If you look at the picture of the bat, the sweet spot is about 15" long. Anything between the white line on the bat and the end tip of the bat is going to fly if you square up the ball. If you hit in from the white line into the handle, you will probably hit a weak fly or soft grounder.

Tip For Hitting the White Steel Bat

If you do use this bat take a half a step off the plate. You don't want to hit the ball off the fists. take your step into the ball toward the pitcher not the plate.

For me, power hitting is not my game. I'm more of a line drive kind of guy. That is my natural swing. I like having the larger sweet spot though I sacrifice some distance. That means I'm sticking with my old reliable beat up TPS Louisville Slugger. If I'm in a situation where I need to pop one, I may try it here or there but I'm sticking with my old bat. If your game is power and you can control where you hit the ball, then the DeMarini White Steel Softball bat may just be what you are looking for!