2018 Rawlings Velo BBCOR Review- Loudest Ping By Far

Rawlings is justly famous for its terrific baseball bats, but the most praise has often been heaped for the 2018 Rawlings Velo BBCOR.

The Velo is the most popular of all the 2018 BBCOR bats from Rawlings. These include 3 different aluminum bat models along with the increasingly renowned Quatro with its composite material.

In fact, the Velo is probably one of the most popular BBCOR bats in the market today.

You can find the Velo at just about any sporting goods store, though of course the price is much better online.

2018 Rawlings Velo BBCOR Baseball Bat

• Laser-etched groove through sweet spot is proven to increase barrel flexibility
• Made from the loudest acoustic alloy on the market for an unmistakable ping
• BBCOR certified to stay within the .50 performance standard
• Adheres to a -3 drop weight
• 31-inch bat length with a 2-5/8-inch big barrel

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Last update on 2024-11-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Features of the 2018 Rawlings Velo BBCOR

• The 2018 Rawlings Velo high school and college baseball bat comes with the BBCOR certification stamp.

  It also comes with the standard drop -3 length-to-weight ratio and the 2 5/8-inch barrel diameter.

• It offers a very balanced swing weight, which makes it very easy to control. This bat feels light when you swing it, so you can really direct its path through the strike zone.

  The swing speed you can generate with the Velo will be impressively quick because of the lightness.

• This also features the special Rawlings technique of using variable wall thickness so that you get a bigger barrel without negatively affecting the swing weight.

  Their innovative technology (POP. 2.0 technology, to be exact), was able to take out even more mass from the inner barrel with a groove going down the length of the inside of the barrel.

  This leaves room for a bigger barrel, while also reducing the drop weight.

  This is a technology that Rawlings was first to introduce to the baseball industry. Though many other brands have copied this feature in their newer bats as well.

• They were also able to reduce the swing weight even more by using composite for the end cap. This use of composite is why it’s called a hybrid. It’s not a traditional hybrid that comes with an aluminum barrel and a composite handle.

  The lighter composite at the end keeps it from feeling like you’re wielding a mallet or a hammer. It’s more like wielding a drum stick.



Learn About The Pop and the Grip

• This 2018 Rawlings Velo BBCOR baseball bat: BB8V3 also uses the advanced Precision Laser POP technology that gives the bat its terrific flex.

  In a way, it gives a bit of a trampoline effect so you really do get more pop upon contact. The ball really takes off.

• The synthetic bat grip is also specially designed. It comes with a tackified feel that gives you a very secure grip.

  It helps you to swing with more confidence and more control, knowing that it’s unlikely to slide out of your grasp.

• This bat also gives off that distinct ping sound when you make contact, and for many players it’s familiar and quite satisfying.

  It’s one of the main problems with composite, as the sound seems dull in comparison.

  The ping sound in the Velo is even more emphatic, and it can really give you that impetus to run quickly around the bases. It’s very easy to know when you’ve hit the ball solidly.

• This also comes with the Tru-View feature, which shows you a window to the inside revealing the pure aluminum alloy composition.

  It looks really cool, and that’s always a plus. But it also assures you that you got the genuine aluminum article.

Pros of the 2018 Rawlings Velo BBCOR Baseball Bat

So what advantages do these features offer?

• First and perhaps most important of all is that many of the features combine to give you a nicely light swing weight for your bat.

  Basically, you’re much better able to control where your bat goes when you take a swing. This makes it more likely for you to make contact with the baseball. It’ll be very hard to strike you out.

• With more contact with the baseball and more control of the bat, you’re well able to hit the ball more precisely so you can hit the ball in the gaps between the infielders and the outfielders.

  This means you’re probably going to get on base more frequently. That’s your main job if you’re on the top of the lineup.

  You need to get in scoring position so that the hitters in the middle of the lineup can get you home.



Remember…This is a One-Piece Bat

• As this is an aluminum bat, you don’t have to break it in. It’s usable right out of the wrapper.

  There’s no need to spend days trying to get it into game form, and you don’t have to worry about whether you’ve broken it in properly. Once you get it, it’s ready to play.

• The pop and the distance you get from this bat are also terrific. The ball just simply takes off from the bat and you can really get the ball to travel.

  If you get a hit, you can expect more extra-base hits rather than just hitting singles all the time.

  Because of that flex, you get distance as well as control, and that’s not usually how it works. Usually, you get distance and less control or more control and less distance. Now you have both.

The Grip and Ping of This 2018 Rawlings Velo BBCOR Baseball Bat: BB8V3

• The grip is terrific too. Many people who have used this bat marvel at the feel of the grip. It’s very comfortable in your hands and it gives you a truly secure hold on the bat.

  It actually helps you to generate a much faster swing speed which leads to the greater distance.

  You’re more confident in taking a full swing because you know your bat isn’t likely to fly away from you.

• Then there’s that terrific ping. You won’t believe how loud it gets when you hit the ball in the sweet spot.

  This Velo is acoustically designed to really announce to everyone how solid your contact with the ball is.

  It’s the kind of sound that can really get you going as a player, and the satisfaction of that ping sound just can’t be found in other bats. It’s the kind of attention to detail that really impresses.

• It looks cool too. Part of that reason is due to the Tru-View feature which lets you look in like it’s the transparent back of a mechanical watch. For many young players, cool looks matter too even for baseball equipment.

• It’s a Rawlings. Brands matter in baseball, and the Rawlings brand is trusted and popular. You don’t really want to bat at the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded holding a bat from an unknown brand.

The Difference Between the Velo, Quatro and 5150 BBCOR Bats

Cons of the 2018 Rawlings Velo High School and College Baseball Bat

You do need to think about a few issues, however.

• This isn’t the bat for you if you’re batting cleanup. For that you’ll probably need an end-loaded bat that can provide more force for home runs like the 2018 DeMarini CF Insane.

  If you’re aiming to be a home run king, this 2018 Rawlings Velo BBCOR bat isn’t really for you.

• It’s true that this isn’t the most expensive bat in the Rawlings lineup, but it isn’t cheap either.

  This bat is clearly for the serious players only as if you only play a game or two a year, then you won’t get much for your money.

• It may not be possible for you to replace the grip with an exact substitute if you somehow damage it.

  Rawlings customer support say that the replacement grip isn’t available on the market and that you can’t get them directly from Rawlings either.

  Also, the grip is not part of the warranty so you can’t send it back with a damaged grip and get a replacement.

• There’s also no real super-effective feature here that can minimize the stinging caused by the vibration of the bat.

2018 Rawlings Velo BBCOR Video

Conclusion on This 2018 Rawlings Velo BBCOR Bat

There are very good reasons why you may want to get this bat, and join the hordes of players who buy the Velo.

But these reasons all boil down to the fact that it’s perhaps the most advanced aluminum bat you can find today. That makes the price look really attractive—you’re getting your money’s worth.

You really should consider this when you’re batting at the top of the lineup and you want to get on base. The control you get is tremendous.

It’s like you can hit the ball towards any spot of the field you like. You can slide the ball between the gaps and get the outfielders scrambling.

It’s the combination of control and pop that’s really appealing to players who like balanced bats. You can really make that baseball go where you want to go.

You can also catch up of faster pitches with the low swing weight that generate quick swing speed.

This is also your bat if you like the aluminum benefits like terrific out of the box playability and a tremendous ping. It sounds like you’ve really walloped the ball and that sound carries. It’s extremely loud.

With so many players buying the 2018 Rawlings Velo BBCOR, you have to realize that lots of people have a high regard for this bat.

They’re not buying this because it’s cheap—because it’s not cheap at all. Yet droves of people are drawn to the Velo because this bat is really that good.

If you’re going to take a pass on this bat but are loyal to the brand then you’ve got to check out this Rawlings Quatro.