DeMarini BBCOR Bats Sale


You can get cheap DeMarini BBCOR bats from the 2012 series because retailers are putting them on sale to make way for the 2013 DeMarini bats.
2012 DeMarini Voodoo BBCOR -3 bat
Was $299.99
Eastbay - $199.99 free ship w/ code LKS12564
Amazon - check prices last check: 32" $175 / 33" $153 / 34" $190
BaseballRampage - $199.99
BaseballExpress - $199.99
2012 DeMarini M2M BBCOR -3 bat
Was $249.99
Eastbay - $149.99 free ship w/ code LKS12564
Amazon - check prices last check 33" $119 / 34" $135
BaseballExpress - $149.99
2012 DeMarini Vexxum BBCOR -3 bat
Was $199.99
Eastbay $159.99 free ship w/ code LKS12564
Amazon - check prices last check: 33.5" $97 / others $126-$130
BaseballRampage - $129.99 (34" only)
BaseballExpress - $159.99
2012 DeMarini CF5 BBCOR -3 bat
Was $399.99
Eastbay - $299.99 free ship w/ code LKS12564
Amazon - check prices last check 32" and 33" were only $192
BaseballRampage - $249.99
BaseballExpress - $249.99
Evoshield’s New Batting Gloves with Slide-in Protective Hand Guard

Evoshield made a new batting glove that lets you insert one of their custom-molding "shields" to protect the back of your lead, or bottom hand while batting.
And these new Evoshield batting gloves launched for the 2012 baseball season are so hot, they were almost sold out before the season even started!
At a price of $59.99 they're probably the most expensive batting gloves on the market (most high end batting gloves cost around $40), but players clearly want them as badly as they religiously use Evoshield's other protective gear.
Evoshield released their "Pro Style" batting gloves in sizes S-XXL and in three colors (black, gray, and white). But they've sold so well, here's all that's available at last check.
Eastbay - only XL Gray
Amazon - sizes Large and up, in gray or black
Baseball Express - XL black, XXL gray
If you want to know when other sizes and colors are available, join our email list and we'll let you know.
Key Features of Evoshield Batting Gloves
With a Pittards leather palm and a thick wrist band, the Evoshield feels like a high-quality batting glove. But it's no secret that the roughly $20 extra you're paying is for the insertable protective shield.
Evoshield representatives confirmed to me that each pair of batting gloves comes with only one shield, because it's meant to be used for your lead hand. The custom-molding protective shield comes in a foil pouch. You just open it, take the shield and insert it into your batting glove, and wear the glove until the shield hardens.
Here's a diagram we made pointing out key features of the Evoshield protective batting glove.

Evoshield Batting Glove Videos
Here's a video of Evoshield's director of baseball sales talking about the launch of their batting gloves.
Here's a video where Evoshield batting gloves and wrist guards are used to imitate the Under Armour click clack commercials.
New Miami Marlins Caps: new logo, the hot orange road hat, where to get the best price


In case you missed the news while hibernating this winter, the Florida Marlins got tons of new stuff…
- new name, Miami Marlins
- new stadium, Marlins Park near downtown Miami
- new manager, f@#%ing Ozzie Guillen
- new players Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell
- ...and most noticeably, a slick new logo…which has made the new Miami Marlins caps some of the hottest MLB merchandise right now.
In fact, the new road/away Marlins orange cap has sold so well that it's currently on backorder at MLB Shop (see screencap).
But you can still get it elsewhere. Here are the best places (and prices) for grabbing the new Miami Marlins hats.
Where to buy the new Miami Marlins official on-field cap
The list price for official New Era "59Fifty MLB Authentic Collection" caps is $34.99, and you'll see them for full price at New Era and full price at MLB Shop. Tack on those stores' $4.95 and $2.95 shipping, and you're at $38-$40 before tax
So if you want to save a few bucks, it's better to buy the new Marlins hat from Lids or Starstruck, or possibly Amazon.
Lids:
- get the black cap or the orange cap
- coupon: if you buy before the end of Opening Day, use coupon code LIDSMLB for 25% off to drop it to $26.25 (better than even the usual 20% Lids membership discount)
- shipping: free ship to a Lids store, $4.99 to home, or free ship to home on orders $50+
Starstruck (probably the cheapest for a single cap)
- get the black cap or the orange cap
- should start at $31.49, then use coupon code SSAF2012 for another 10% off
- that's $28.34, then select the $1.99 shipping option in checkout...$30.33 total
- no sales tax in most states - only in Illinois!
Amazon
They list the black cap and the orange cap, but the prices and sellers vary widely across cap sizes.
Looks like Amazon sold a few themselves at $26.99, a killer price, but they're all out of stock. Still, it looks like you can grab a few sizes for about $30-$32 shipped from random sellers on Amazon.
Other cap styles with the new Miami Marlins logo

Lids has a bunch of other styles besides the on-field cap.
Or check Eastbay. They carry a New Era snapback and several styles under $20 - a few New Era practice styles and a Nike Dri-fit version
Nike Diamond Elite Pro Batting Gloves: Pujols and Cano Player Editions join Mauer, Tulo, Teixeira

Nike just added Albert Pujols batting gloves, as well as a Robinson Cano model, to their collection of Diamond Elite Pro batting gloves.
These are called "Player Edition," or Nike "PE" Diamond Elite Pro batting gloves.
Oddly, these new Pujols and Cano batting gloves are the same price as the regular Diamond Elite Pro batting gloves. But other Player Editions -- Joe Mauer, Troy Tulowitzki, and Mark Teixeira -- are more expensive.
Nike Player Edition Diamond Elite Pro batting gloves

Albert Pujols batting gloves $39.99
click here and then search: Pujols batting gloves

Robinson Cano batting gloves $39.99
click here and then search: Cano batting gloves

Joe Mauer batting gloves $49.99
at Eastbay, click here

Troy Tulowitzki batting gloves - click here
These have a nice, clean look...mostly white, with purple and a "2LOW" logo on the wrist.

Mark Teixeira batting gloves $49.99, click here to see 'em
More about the Nike Diamond Elite Pro batting gloves
From reading reviews and listening to Nike design commentary in the video below, these batting gloves seem to have four key features.
- no seam that usually runs on the side of your hand, up from the wrist to your pinky finger
- seamless Sypder-Tex cabretta leather palms
- Pre-curved fingers to reduce the leather bunching up between your hands and the bat
- Nike Dri-FIT fabric on the back and between the fingers
Here's a video from Nike with Tim Clark, the lead designer of these batting gloves. He explains the decision to eliminate the seam from the side of the batting glove.
Extra credit: Watch closely and from 0:33-0:38 you'll see the glove he's wearing has a red #24 on the inside wrist. Is that a Player Edition glove that we haven't found? Is it a glove that was custom made for a pro player and not released for sale? Hmm...
Regular edition Nike Diamond Elite Pro batting gloves - 20+ colors

If the Player Editions above don't knock your socks off, you can get regular Nike Diamond Elite Pro batting gloves and have a wider variety of colors to choose from, some with a white base and others in gray (Nike actually calls the color "pewter"). And you might save a few bucks, too.
Baseball Savings has 21 colors for $34.95 each
click here to see them
Eastbay has 13 color options for $39.99 each
click here to see them
DeMarini Wants to Know “What D Stick Are You Swingin?” This Weekend


This has to be the most lewd tweet by a baseball equipment company we've seen in a while.
And, fittingly, the first reply on Twitter is from a chick Northwestern softball's shortstop, who both answers it seriously "black CF4 drop 9" and adds the hashtag #springbreak2012.
Yo, @DeMarini, you can't tweet about "swingin a D stick" and expect not to get called out on it.
Cheap Akadema Torino Series Gloves, Kip Leather only $99.98


Baseball Express has marked down three Akadema Torino Series gloves to $99.98 each. No word if the discount is because these gloves are really ugly, or if the store just needs to clear inventory.
When they advertised it as 50% off and showed the original price as $179.99, I questioned their math skills. But these gloves are still $199.99 at Baseball Rampage, so this deal is actually 50% off of that.
Regardless of the original price being $180 or $200, the important thing is that this is a darn cheap way to get some Kip leather, only 100 bucks.
Two infield gloves (right hand throw): 11 1/4" ATX15 and 11 1/2" ARO18
And a Left hand throw 12 3/4" ADV33.
Oh, if you buy one of these Akadema Torino gloves, Baseball Express will throw in a free Akadema ion necklace, which apparently blends "modern science and eastern wisdom" to encourage "blood circulation, metabolism and helps soothe fatigue, both on the field and off."
Hmm...maybe useful to have as a spare shoestring?
3n2 launches My3N2 for customizing your team cleats and uniforms


Mostly-softball brand 3N2 Sports just publicly launched "My3N2," their tool that allows you to design and customize your own cleats and uniforms.
After opening the "pre-launch" in late November 2011, they're now saying the software is in beta.
This is our beta launch: a fully featured sandbox where you can customize product for your team and purchase it in time for the 2012 season. However, being in beta, you are bound to encounter some rough edges.
My3N2 requires Flash and Unity 3D web player (I had to install that.. never heard of it) and it doesn't work with the Chrome browser, but after I got the tech stuff lined up, it worked pretty smoothly.
First step, you pick the shoe model you'd like to customize.

As of February 21, 2011, they offered 4 trainer / turf shoe variations, 4 women's cleats, and 1 model of men's cleats, the Rally PM metal spikes.
Next, you have to name your customization project and they give you the option to include your design in a public gallery that other people can use as inspiration for starting their designs.

This part made me realize it really is for team use (and kinda weird that they'd call it "My3N2" which sounds very personal / individualized). The custom Rally PM men's cleat will cost $90 each, with a minimum order of 12 pairs.
For comparison, buying the pre-made Rally PM direct from 3N2 costs $84.99, available in 8 color schemes.
Or you can get the Rally PM spikes in your choice of 5 color schemes for only $69.99 at Eastbay.
The My3N2 tool then takes you through choosing colors for FOURTEEN parts of the shoe (I didn't even know it was possible to have 14...and that's just for the upper).
- Cordura color
- Leather strapping
- Quarter leather
- Removable tongue flap
- Eyelet border
- Shoelaces
- Toe Cup
- Toe Bumper
- Mud Guard Leather
- Quarter Strapping
- Ankle Loop
- 3N2 Tongue Logo
- 3N2 Quarter Logo
- 3N2 Heel Logo
I was exhausted after 3 or 4 choices, and then just started picking white, or whichever color I could choose quickest.
Throughout this process, you can zoom in/out and rotate the shoe all the way around to inspect your design choices. Guess that 3D software plug-in comes in handy.
Finally -- we get to the upsell. You can swap in your custom logo in place of the 3N2 logo on the tongue ($5 extra) and on the heel (another $5). If you did both, you'd be up to $100 for each pair of cleats.
When you're done designing, you're asked to enter names and sizes for your 12+ unit team order. Then just pay your $1,000+ total bill and call it a day.
They say "orders are typically processed in 4-6 weeks from time of artwork confirmation."
Overall, it's a pretty cool tool, but I think you'd have to REALLY, REALLY WANT some custom team cleats to carefully make 16 design decisions, get 11 teammates to buy in to your design and the cost, especially when you can get the same cleats in 5 different colors for up to $30 less at Eastbay.
Yup, after all that work, resulting in my kinda crappy / too-busy-looking design and the $90+ price tag...the $70 pre-made cleats through Eastbay are looking like a big relief and a good value to me.
MLB 2K12 Releases March 6, feat. Justin Verlander and…Kate Upton?


So MLB 2K12 is coming out on March 6th and it's probably a safe bet that more people know that the new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model Kate Upton is promoting the game than that the reigning Cy Young winner and AL MVP Justin Verlander is on the game's cover.
Anyway, the game will be available for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Nintendo Wii, DS, and PC. Click here to see 'em on Amazon.
And like last year, there's a million dollar challenge involving throwing a perfect game. But instead of just the first perfect game winning the million, this year you have to win a tournament of the 8 people with the top verified perfect games thrown from April 4th (MLB Opening Day) through April 30th.
Official contest page is at http://www.2ksports.com/perfectclub but check this out from the fine print...
GRAND PRIZE WILL NOT BE AWARDED UNLESS AN ELIGIBLE ENTRANT THROWS A PERFECT GAME BY 4/30/12.
Wouldn't that be a bummer?!
Here's the
Kate Upton commercial for MLB 2K12
, entitled "Finger Mechanics" (how clever and provocative)
So now that you know how to throw a circle change (take your thumb, go up and then around)... here's the
MLB 2K12 commercial with Justin Verlander and CJ Wilson
entitled "Verlander vs Verlander" in which Verlander makes a bunch of weird faces and talks about being a ninja or cheetah or ninja blah blah.
MLB 2K12 official trailer
this one should be just called "Freaking Awesome"
More MLB 2K12
ESPN: Stephen Strasburg's advice for pitching on MLB 2K12
Kotaku: in-depth game preview including business/financial issues inside 2K Sports, game design decisions, analysis of 2K12's game mechanics and strategy
Amazon: go there and scroll down for more details on specific game features, new additions, and some nice big screengrabs of Verlander, David Price, and CJ Wilson
Nike SHA|DO Cleats and Gloves Make Us Wanna Play High School Baseball in Japan


Nike Japan just released the super sweet SHA|DO collection of baseball cleats and gloves for high school baseball in Japan.
Nike Inc.'s site says this about the SHA|DO or Shadow name:
"The name SHA|DO (“SHA” for Gratitude and “DO” for Way in Japanese) speaks to the spirit of always playing with a sense of gratitude, as well as the message that the skills [honed] during the three years in high school are the result of everyday practices from dawn to late night, i.e., behind-the-scenes (shadow) efforts."
You can browse the new Shado cleats and gloves on Nike Japan's baseball site at http://nikebaseball.jp/ but we've had some problems loading the site, so we took screencaps for you.
Below are some photos from the official announcement, then pictures of the Nike Shadow cleats and then gloves.
Since we used Google translate to convert the Japanese to English so you can notice some details about each product's materials and where it's made, but some words/phrases will be a little wacky so don't take them literally.
Nike SHA|DO Collection Announcement
Here are a few more pictures from the official announcement of the Nike Shadow baseball gear collection. To see the full gallery, visit http://nikeinc.com/news/japan-baseball.



Nike Japan SHA|DO Cleats

The featured cleat in the Nike Shadow footwear lineup is the Nike Fly Leather J Elite SHA|DO, which includes the same Nike Flywire technology we're seeing in more Nike shoes in the U.S. It's available in low cut or mid-high and has a traditional leather sole found in most Japanese baseball cleats.
Below those, you'll see a couple "Lady" cleat models and then the Nike Zoom Elite Fly and Nike Air Clipper.






Nike Japan SHA|DO Gloves

Here are the Nike SHADO / Shadow gloves for 2012. They're all made in Japan from Kip leather. You'll see models for infield, pitcher, catcher, first base, and outfield.
Not sure why you'd want a color other than black, but you'll see most Nike Shadow gloves are also available in brown and orange (coming in April 2012).









Nike Air Max Diamond Elite Fly Cleats up to $60 off

The Nike Diamond Elite Fly was one of the hottest cleats of 2011, and now for the 2012 season it might be the best value for many players in terms of cost-to-cool-factor.
Last season everyone was wearing these cleats, or at least it seemed that way because you can't miss that distinctive white toe cap. In fact, as we mentioned last summer, three of the eight College World Series teams -- Texas, Vanderbilt, and North Carolina -- were sporting the Diamond Elite Fly.
Now only a season later, we're seeing some nice discounts off the original list price of $100, especially if you have big feet.
Only $40 for Size 14 in blue, red, or white at Baseball Savings right now.
(Also $40 for size 8 white/black.)
Only $60 for sizes 8, 13.5, 14, 15, 16 in black/white from Nike Store
And the rest of us with average feet can still get the Diamond Elite Fly in most sizes, our choice from 10 colors, for only $75 from Eastbay

Ian Ybarra