Should Baseball Players Warm Up With a Weighted Bat?

The Truth About Weighted Bats

About a week ago I was speaking to Don Johnson about whether or not baseball players should use weighted bats prior to their at bat. While most baseball players would agree that weighted bats help speed up your bat because it makes your bat feel lighter, the truth is that using a weighted bat before hitting can slow down your bat speed and throw off your timing.  A weighted bat can also be detrimental because it can enforce faulty movement patterns and change the mechanics of your swing.   This will happen when you use a bat that is too heavy and this is also why you should not try to mimic the throwing motion and hitting motion in the gym. The gym should be used to become a better athlete, not to improve your baseball skills. If you want to improve your baseball skills then get on the baseball diamond and start working on your hitting and throwing mechanics. Check out this video done by Sports Science to see why the use of weighted bats before hitting can hinder your hitting ability.

Why do Major League Baseball Players use weighted bats?
Using a weighted bat prior to hitting is a tradition that goes way back before science could actually prove the negative effects it could have on the swing. Professional baseball players do not concern themselves with the science behind the sport. This is the same answer I would give to why MLB pitcher’s still do long distance running. Even though science has proven it to be detrimental to performance, they do it because it is tradition. It is “what your suppose to do”.

Another reason why MLB players use weighted bats is because it mentally prepares them for their at bat. Anyone that has played baseball can tell you that it is a mental game. Unlike basketball or football when you tons of opportunities to redeem yourself, in baseball you only get 3-4 at bats a game. You get an at bat, then you will have to wait another 45 minutes to an hour before you get another 1. In basketball you can get 10-20 opportunities a game. In football quarterbacks get 20+ opportunities and running backs usually get 15+ opportunities. The down time in sports like football and basketball are minimal because you are constantly moving. There is no waiting around or down time. This is why baseball is such a mental game. You need to mentally prepare yourself for each at bat.

Since baseball is such a mental game, anything that can give you a mental edge in baseball is worth consideration. So if you think that a weighted bat is going to help you have faster hands and help give you a mental edge than by all means keep using it. If you want to optimize your bat speed then keep reading.

What Should you do right before hitting?

The best way to prepare yourself for your at bat is by swinging a lighter bat or your actual game bat. I compare this to doing box jumps or plyo push ups before my max effort exercise. By using a ligher weight, you can apply more force to the swing and ignite your nervous system. By doing this you will also get the right muscle fibers to fire and prep your body for swinging your normal bat.
Another weight room example is performing each warm up set for the squat as explosive as possible. If you are aiming to squat 300lbs for the day and start with 135lbs you should be moving 135 like it is your max set. If not, you are just going through the motions and not really preparing your body for what it is about to do. I would apply this same approach to hitting if you get what I mean.

Need more evidence?