Last summer, like a kid on Christmas morning, Rockies all-star outfielder Michael Cuddyer eagerly opened the box containing a shipment of Louisville Slugger bats. He picked up one of his new 34-inch, 32½-ounce ash bats and immediately knew something was wrong.
“I could just feel something was off. It didn’t feel right,” Cuddyer said. “I swung the bat and knew for sure.”
He was right. A quick test showed that the bats were too short and too light. A quick call to Louisville Slugger rectified the problem and Cuddyer had his new bats — the right bats.
“It doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you are used to a 32½-ounce bat and you have to switch to a 31, it’s a huge difference,” Cuddyer said.
A closer look at some of the bats used by the Rockies:
Wilin Rosario
Company: B45
Wood: Yellow birch
Size: 34½ inches, 32 ounces
Notable: Began using his birch bat in 2010 at the suggestion of Manny Mota, the hitting legend from the Dominican Republic. “I think it’s good for power,” Rosario says.
Todd Helton
Company: Mizuno
Wood: Maple
Size: 34 inches, 32 ounces
Notable: Helton likes a bat with a slim handle and big barrel, but will switch to a thicker-handle bat when facing left-handed pitchers. “It’s all about feel,” Helton says.
Troy Tulowitzki Company: Tucci
Wood: Maple
Size: 34 inches, 31½ ounces
Notable: Tulo takes special care of his bats, wrapping them in sanitary socks before placing them in his bat bag. “I don’t like them to get scratched,” he says.
Nolan Arenado
Company: A-Bat (Superior Bat Co.)
Wood: Maple
Size: 34 inches, 31½ ounces
Notable: Began his rookie season swinging a 32-ounce bat. “Later in the season when I’m feeling a little bit weaker, I try to go a little lighter,” Arenado says.
Carlos Gonzalez
Company: Sam Bat
Wood: Maple
Size: 34 or 35 inches, 32 ounces
Notable: CarGo’s bats have a thin handle and a big barrel, which he claims helps generate power. It’s also a big reason he breaks so many bats.
Dexter Fowler
Company: Marruci
Wood: Maple
Size: 34 inches, 31½ ounces
Notable: He tapes his handle extra thick because he has large hands. “A bat’s a bat for me. It’s all about feel. If it feels good, I use it,” Fowler says.
Michael Cuddyer
Company: Louisville Slugger
Wood: Ash
Size: 34 inches, 32½ ounces
Notable: Cuddyer slaps pine tar all over his bat handle. He is the Rockies’ only position player who uses an ash bat. “It’s what I grew up with,” he says.
Tyler Chatwood
Company: Tucci
Wood: Maple
Size: 33½ inches, 31 ounces
Notable: Chatwood is a career .320 hitter, excellent for a pitcher. “I love to hit. I don’t go crazy about my bats,” he says, “but I do take care of them and tape them up myself.”
