They're made out of liquid metal, chromium and scandium. They contain nanotubes of carbon fiber and three-compartment air chambers. They have names like Exogrid, Plasma, Stealth and Dynasty.\nThese aren't your daddy's baseball bats, junior.\n"Time moves on and so does technology," said Rick Redman, the vice president of corporate communications for Louisville Slugger. "Our product development team is always looking for ways to do different things, to make new materials that are stronger and last longer."\nWith innovations aimed at creating greater performance and durability, you practically need to be a physicist to understand what new-age bats are made of. And you need to be a mathematician to count all the money companies are making.\n"It's continued to be a strong market, and a lot of that is because players are looking for the latest and the greatest," Redman said.\nLouisville Slugger's Exogrid fits that bill right now. It features carbon composite inserts and an internal carbon composite sleeve, materials that are also used in making aircraft. The Exogrid retails at $329.99, and Redman said it's selling as fast as the company can make it.\n"Some of our retail accounts say it's sold faster than any bat they've ever had," Redman said.\nPortage, Ind. baseball coach Tim Pirowski was one of the buyers.\n"When coach brought it out, guys were like, 'Oh my God, you bought it!'" Indians outfielder Shane Dixon said. "You can literally feel the pop with it. All the (Louisville Slugger) TPXs have the pop. The technology is insane."\nCoaches, however, cast a skeptical eye toward the bat market.\n"Each one has its own gimmick," Merrillville's Andrean High School coach Dave Pishkur said. "You see all the new bats during the College World Series, and that's the new line for the following (prep) season. You've got the top of the line all the way down to the ones that supposedly aren't as good. What's the difference? Price? Nobody seems to know the answers. The companies say there are differences, but I don't think I see the ball going any farther or coming off the bat any faster."\nMost Region coaches don't even buy bats before May, when temperatures begin to rise. For all the improvements that have been made, Redman concedes that a stick hasn't been built that can withstand the cold.
\n"Just before the RailCats Challenge last year, we had two new bats and they both dented," Valparaiso's Washington Township coach Randy Roberts said. "And it wasn't like these were huge, powerful kids.\n"They may perform better, but I think, for the most part, they're junk. If I see somebody walk to the plate with a $350 bat, they won't have me shaking."\nThe fickle nature of the sport -- where three hits in every 10 at-bats constitutes success -- as much as the scientific developments in the equipment seem to be responsible for the steady sales.\n"People struggle, they try something different," Redman said. "You see that at the major league level. Nobody wants to blame themselves. They think, 'Oh, it's got to be the bat's fault.'"\nBatmakers almost bank on it.\n"If guys get in a slump, they go buy a more expensive bat, thinking they're going to do better," said Adam Kennedy of Crown Point, Ind. "Some guys constantly rotate bats."\nOthers find something and stick with it, like Griffith's Ryan Bridges, who uses a Louisville Slugger Dynasty model. He was more concerned with comfort than the trampoline effect.\n"I don't really look at any of that," Bridges said. "It's the feel. It felt real good in my hand."\nEaston's Stealth spiked in popularity the last couple years for its Opti-Flex composite handle.\n"A lot of new bats have a handle that bends on impact," Kennedy said. "I don't really like that. They don't seem to have as much pop."\nKennedy went back to a TPX Response that he has used for about two years.\n"I really think it's all in your head," Kennedy said. "I always say it's just the bat and the ball. If you're a good hitter, you're a good hitter."\nDixon used the Exogrid only once, grounding out weakly. He swung an Easton Connexion when he dropped a home run onto someone's patio recently at Portage.\n"I'm kind of superstitious," Dixon said. "All through summer ball, I used the same bat. The bat can help, but I think if you put a good swing on it and hit (the ball) hard, it's going to go."\nLikewise, players struggling to get their heads above the Mendoza line (.200) aren't going to find themselves suddenly raking like Albert Pujols, no matter what they're swinging.\n"I don't care if it's low end, high end, wood, you've got to find the barrel of the bat," Roberts said. "That's what separates good hitters from bad hitters"
