Hitting with the MARUCCI CAT9 & CAT9 CONNECT - BBCOR Baseball Bat Reviews

All right, it's time. What very well may be the world premiere of the Marucci Cat 9 BB Core. What up, what up? Will here with the Baseball Bat Bros. Here I got the Marucci Cat 8. But guys, big news, the Cat 8 is now no longer the latest and greatest from Marucci. Fellas, we got the Cat 9! Ladies and gentlemen, there it is. Hopefully yesterday you saw our live unboxing of the Cat 9 and the Cat 9 Connect. But here it is up close in the wild. We got the Cat 9 One Piece here from 2021 and the Cat 9 Connect two-piece hybrid. Guys, they bumped up the prices though. $350. So really, I mean, guys, I think this is the most expensive one-piece alloy we've ever seen. $350. We've got a lot of technology in there, but that's pretty dang expensive for a one-piece alloy if you ask me. And then the Cat 9 Connect, up to $400 bucks up there with select LTD, with the select power, with the goods. Apparently two-piece hybrids are running for hundo these days. Pretty dang expensive bats. But guys, I'll give you a quick rundown of the technology upgrades here. Then we'll get into the video for you. So first off, the Cat 9 here and the Cat 9 Connect are going to have a new upgraded type of aluminum. They say it's better performing. We will let you know though. I don't know if it's going to be. We'll find out. And then they actually did some cool technology inside the barrel there. So on the inside of the bat, I'll put a little overlay here so you can see. They actually have some grooves on the inside of the sweet spot that they say is going to make, you know, the sweet spot a bit more flexible. What does that mean? I don't know. No, no idea. So we will find out if that actually makes a difference. And then our next big change on the Cat 9 Connect here is the connector piece. That thing looks like a knee brace, kind of ugly if you ask me, but they say this is going to make it stiffer. So this is going to be a very stiff two-piece hybrid, a lot more like the goods, right? And guys, the main difference between these two bats, honestly, is just going to be a little bit more end load on the Cat 9 Connect. So the Cat 9, we call it, we call the Cat series, like the one-piece series, basically like the Super Mario bat, right? So it's not going to be the best, like the very best in any specific category, but it's one of the single most well rounded bats out there. The swing weight's going to be pretty middle of the road. The sweet spot is really good and the pop's going to be pretty good. So it's going to be pretty good at everything, kind of like that Super Mario option in Mario Kart, right? Not like a Peach or a Toad or nothing like that. But then the Cat 9 Connect is definitely going to be a bit more of a true power hitter bat. Pretty dang end loaded, packs a punch, big sweet spot. But guys, only one way to find out is the Cat 9 and upgrade from the Cat 8. Let's do this. And we are under the lights. Bad news though, we couldn't get the sprinklers off. So right field is just a ball graveyard. We have reinforcements out in right center saving baseballs for us. I'll Venmo you like five bucks. Thank you. All right, let's get into it. All right. First up, we got the Cat 8 setting the benchmark. Pretty dang good bat. Not the best bat out there, but a pretty dang good bat. Solid option. It was $300. Pretty spendy for a one piece, but this thing's got a giant sweet spot. I've said it a few times now, but the Cat 8 has the biggest sweet spot on a one piece alloy bat in our opinion. Pretty dang impressive. But let's try this out, set a benchmark and then see if the Cat 9 can beat it out. Let's do this. Oh, and by the way, we're out on a high school field. It's anywhere from 330 to 340 all around, but the fences are anywhere from like 15 to 25 feet high. So you got to poke it pretty good to get it out of here. Yes, sir. Guys, I said it in bat madness, but I think the Cat 8 has a little more thump than I initially gave it credit for. Pretty dang good bat here. Short porch. Gone. Oh boy. Laser Cameron. Off the wall. It was off of him. Oh yeah. Smoke that wall ball. Oh, that's out. That was peace. All right. Scoreboard. Trace. Oh, the scoreboard. You straight up said that earlier. Laser Cameron. Oh wow. Yeah, yeah. Light pole. Light pole. Light pole. See, like that's the sweet spot on the Cat 8. I got that pretty much down here. Still went pretty good. Oh, that like clipped the top of the fence. All right. It's time. What very well may be the world premiere of the Marucci Cat 9 BB Corps. Let's check it out. Right off the bat, a little bit better taper, I think. A little bit more natural taper in the handle. Feels pretty good. Looks pretty damn clean. Let's see what it's got. That Cat 8 kind of impressed there. That was pretty good. Oh, I don't know. I did not get that good. I did not hit that very well. Oh yeah. Way out. That was in the golf course in right center. That's a nuke. You guys don't know, but the golf course is like way back there. Oh wowza. Yeah, this is, I like this. I already like this better than that one. I'm going to need a little more juice. Yeah. Oh wow. That was way out. That felt pretty good. I felt pretty good. I mean, it honestly felt a lot like the Cat 8. I don't really know yet. That felt pretty damn similar, but okay. Oh wow. Oh my gosh. That was pretty good. All right. First three swings have been wall ball, dinger, dinger. Let's keep it going dude. I went into the golf course. That was a take. Wow. What? Whoa. Oh yeah. A little bit towards the end. Wall ball. Oh yeah. Smoked it. Swaggy. What the hell Trace? That was very far out of the yard. Whoa. I don't know if I noticed a lot of difference. That was off the back, like the fence over the fence. That was back to the Cat 8 by the way. Dude, man, that's a rod. Let's see one more. That's a Cat 9. That's popped up. Gone. Wow. I don't know dude. I honestly, just from watching you. Yeah. This just looks like it has a better, bigger sweet spot. It does dude. That's exactly what I was going to say. When you connect with that, it looks like way farther. Yeah. So I honestly, so the Cat 8 was honestly a lot like a, like a contact hitter bat in a lot of ways. Like the pop was pretty good, but the sweet spot is just giant. Whereas I think they made this a lot more just like a traditional one piece. That's just in my opinion, where the sweet spot is going to be a tiny bit smaller, but it's got the juice that a lot of one pieces are going to have. It seems similar to the shrinking. Yeah, but this has a bigger sweet spot than the shrinking I'd say. I think, you know, this would have beat the shrinking just in terms of pop probably. Got it. This is probably like a nine or so in pop, eight or nine in pop on the bat roll scale. This thing can dump it pretty good, but maybe a little bit smaller sweet spot, but I like, honestly, if I were to change the cat eight, I'd try to add some more power to it. And that did a pretty good job. Alrighty. Now we got the cat nine connect a little more power optimized here. Let's see. Oh, way louder, dude. What? That's really interesting. That's a different sound. All right. So this is, dude, this is the same exact reaction we had in our old Marucci video where we moved from the cat eight to the cat eight connect. We were like, what the hell? Home run. Oh yeah. Way out, dude. Oh, stay up. That's way out. Yes, sir. Okay. Okay. Wait, that was off the second. Okay. Yeah. For the record, there's another fence behind left field. So if we say it's out and you still hear the fence, so initial reaction, barely heavier. Like it's hardly even noticeable the swing weight difference between that and that, but the juice is more man. It's stiff. It's stiff. You don't feel it flex much at all. Oh, that was kind of a jam shot. Hitting real good with this one. Is that three for three? You've had like 12 home runs. That's four for four with three home runs. I got jammed on that too. Goodbye. Nice knowing you. All right. They're doing squats. Dude, isn't that one good? Wow. There you go. A little jam. All right. The question everyone wants to know. We're here to answer it. Is the a better bat than the cat nine? At the very least, is it worth it to save 50 bucks by getting the Okay. So initial reaction there, the knocks, you could feel the flex a little bit more flex there. All right. This is your baby, dude. Does it dare be dethroned? You know what? If it does, it is very worthy. In my opinion, that'll be the king of bats. Oh, he jammed. I'm getting jammed like crazy. That's gone. That's gone. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Okay. Good trick and juice. Yeah, dude. The knocks is dope, man. That's Trace's favorite bat in the world. That was off the end. Oh, good. Oh, talk to me. Oh, what's that, Jim? Yes, it was. Over the hedges. Oh, wow. That'll do. That's the furthest ball you've ever hit. Pretty good, though. That was pretty good. Come on, get down. Don't hit it over the scoreboard again. Hit it. I wasn't even very close to the scoreboard. Why do you hit it so hard? The fans want a scoreboard shot, Trace. Way up in the tree, dude. Oh, man, that might have been the furthest one yet. If that goes out. Oh, the knocks is a little bit lighter, a little more flex in the handle. This is a little more stiff, a little more pop, a little heavier. So it's a toss up. I'd say 50 bucks and get the knocks personally. Oh, wow. Go up a one time, Cameron. Damn. Come on. Way out. Cat nine connector knocks. Am I saying this right now? Yeah, you can wait till after if you want. Okay, now I'll wait. I'll get it right now. Cat nine connector knocks? Yeah. Knocks. You're going to knock? Yeah, I'm going to go knock. Dude, easier to control. Yeah. More barrel control. I'll go knocks. The cat nine connect probably is a little more juice, barely, but just a little more barrel control still hits the ball a mile. And then cat nine one piece was light years better than cat eight. You think so? Yep. Light years. I'll put my life on that one. All right. I dig it. Come on. Damn shot. That gives us what we need. Ah, too far left. And too far gone. Too far. We want a scoreboard shot. Come on. No. Too far. Damn it. Okay. Can we stop this here? We need to stop. I'm on a home run. I know. I know. I know. I'm on a streak right here. Come on. Why does this feel normal? You've hit 20 home runs. That hit the intersection. Oh, that hit a car. Oops. There's an intersection like 450 feet out there. An inch away from the scoreboard. Oh, that was jammed. That's still out. That was jammed. Gone. Oh man, dude, this is really, really freaking good. That was a laser. Oh my God, man. Dude, this might be one of the toughest decisions I've ever had on this channel. Safety hack. Oh my God. Holy hell. Oh my God. That hit the street and the street's far away. That street's so far away. That was the same one that went that much further. That was basically the same thing. Gone. Would you, would you agree with this? Would you agree that this is a tad lighter swinging? Yes. And that this hits the ball a tad further? Do you think there's a difference in the sweet spots? They look the same. I feel like, I feel like, so I hit those two back to back that were pretty much the same. I got a little jammed. I think this one had a little more backspin to it. I think that one had a little more to it. I think this might have a little more sweet spot. I really think it does. This thing's really damn good. This is, this could knock off the goods for the best power hitting bat of the year, man. Honestly. Wow. Yeah. It's dude, this, this is built a little different. And I think guys like the margins between this and the goods and the last year is razor fricking thin. That's why, that's why these decisions are so hard. But like if you get any of those, honestly, like you're in good shape to hit fricking nukes, man. It's just, we want to give you guys a decision, but I honestly think it's probably a toss up. It's just, if you're going to prefer a little more barrel control or a little more juice, if you're a stronger guy, I would get this. Yeah, for sure. But it's, it's got that extra weight. So on off the ends or lunging out, you're going to get better average hitting balls off the end and more out in front bombs. This one sounds cooler too. If that matters to you, this one sounds good. Just watching it. I think I'd go with the cat nine. Yeah. Spend that extra 50 bucks. I think I'd do a little better in the season. You want to take a couple of hacks? Yeah. All right, let's do it, buddy. I think feels good. Broke my leg off the mountain. So fellows real good time actually to announce the biggest giveaway in the history of the baseball bat bros. So on December 31st of 2020, when the new year hits, we are going to announce a giveaway where we give away one good BB core bat for every 10,000 subscribers we have. So guys, let's get the baseball bat bros to 100 K by 2021. That means we're going to give away 10 BB cores on January 1st. All right. Hundred K by 2021. Let's do this. If you like the baseball bat bros, drop that subscription boys. Uh, for you're not gifted school folk, uh, that's 10 BB course. All right. So a couple of quick, uh, eggs of yellows off the tee with these, just to see if we can get any sort of differential there. 95, 95. That's pretty good. I guess it's the cat. Do you think so? Yep. 94. All right. 94, 95 range cat. Nine 97. That would be my 96 is my best. I say 97 for swing. You think so? Yep. 97. Whoa. You're a wizard. 97. Yeah. I need to get recruited, bro. Yeah. I wonder if like some overseas college would let me play for their team. 95 more. Oh wow. 95. A little bit better. All right. All right, fellas. So we have some decisions to make here. Uh, we hit and like guys at the end of the day, we had absolute nukes with every single one of these, especially the cat nines and the knocks. Any of those, man, you can't go wrong. Those are fantastic. Fantastic bath. They're a little spendy, but between these, at least we'll review these against some outside brands as well later on too, but out of these. So first we'll start with the one pieces, fellows, cat eight versus cat nine. Uh, it all seemed like we were kind of on the same page here. What do you, uh, what do you guys think? I think that's one of the best one pieces out right now. That thing's pretty hot, man. That's a fantastic one piece. That's going to face the bone saver in bat madness, dude. Like those honestly can meet up in the finals, but they're going to do get out early. So that'll be a really fun matchup. I agree. The cat nine, a little bit smaller, sweet spot, same swing weight, better taper though. A little more leverage. You get out of the handle. I think that's honestly a game changer. That's the easiest hack to make a bat better. If you can like make your own grips on some of these bats, you'll automatically make the bat perform a little bit better. From my experience, a little bit smaller, sweet spot, a little bit hotter, sweet spot. That's honestly what we felt like, like a half point on the bat bro scale in each direction. Uh, that's a really solid bat. Um, all right guys out of the two pieces. So, uh, the cat nine connect and the Victus Knox, uh, we were so torn about this guys. Cause honestly, like, it felt like you've got a little more bat speed, a little more barrel control with the Knox and a little more juice with the cat nine connect, maybe even a little more sweet spot with the cat nine connect, to be honest. But I'd say this isn't like the, this is honestly a lot more like the goods more for a true, true power hitter, a little bit heavier swinging. If you barrel it up. Oh my God, it sounds incredible. It goes a mile. Whereas this is going to be a bit more friendly for like a versatile type guy. I honestly would probably go with this. Cause I just want a little more batting average. I'm not going to hit as many bombs as you know, more like a pure power hitter. So it sounded like you kind of like the cat nine a little bit more. Cause I mean, you're used to swinging wood bats. You can swing just about any swing weight out there. So you just wanted a little bit, a little bit bigger sweet spot, a little more juice. Yeah. Yeah. A hundred percent. And it's really, really close. It's so damn close to the sweet spot on this one is a little bit bigger and I feel like it definitely, the juice is way better. Yeah. And then, uh, cam, if you had to go Knox or cat nine connect. So if I'm trying to take the, if I'm trying to take like the BP of my life, I'm gonna use this, but if I need to, I need, if I need a bat for an entire season, I'm going to go to the victus. It's just easier. All right. And then guys, last question. If you had to pick between our two featured bats today, cat nine or cat nine connect, what are you going with? Connect the connect. Yeah. It's just, it's so fun to swing dude. When you barrel, like, so you, Oh, the lights are starting to turn off. We'll hurry. Okay. So you could tell the difference between the cat nine connect over the cat eight connect more than you could tell the difference between the cat nine to the cat eight. In my, in my opinion, the sound off, this was like another level, man. And you could really tell the stiffness made a difference in at least the perceived performance of the bat. This thing hit absolute nukes, but the lights are turning off. We love you guys. Baseball bat bros.com to check out the merch. You can check us out on social media, uh, at Twitter, Tik TOK and Instagram at baseball bat bros, like, and subscribe. We're about to be left here in the dark boys. Peace out.