Hitting with the 1989 Easton CERAMIC Baseball Bat (Review)

Today we're trying out the Easton... Ceramic? This bat is from the unrestricted 1980s/90s "gorilla-era" and is actually one of the very first prototypes of a COMPOSITE baseball bat. Let's see how it stacks up against another 1990s legend: the Easton Reflex.
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[@califinn]

Man, haven't heard the sound of that ceramic bat in nearly 30 years, what a throwback! Yes, that bat was brutal if you weren't on target.

[@ctsingletonboxing2829]

I had one didn't like it at all!

[@toddk4115]

Showing our age here. lol. A team mater of mine had one when I was 13 in 1990. HIs shattered in batting practice before the season even started. It was well over $100 which was a lot back in that time. I think $150 or more.

[@beatndagutta]

Me neither last time I saw it we were playing in a tournament in September in Massachusetts and I used my buddies ceramic 0:01 bat and cracked it bc it was so cold..

[@chadmurrell3953]

Had the ceramic a few seasons went dead pretty quick

[@irishsox1]

I used it in 1989. The just misses went a little farther but it was hard bat to square up, gave up on it after around 4 games. Switched back to the Black Magic for the rest of the season.

[@chadink]

In Little League those ceramics were the "It" bat. That was straight new technology. It took me back when Will showed it. I went & grabbed my Big League Chew.

[@Gravy_Master]

Grape flavor?

[@joeanderson444]

I cannot believe I was just looking this up the other day to try and remember what it looked like. My parents actually bought me one when I was 12 in little league in 1990. Everyone on the team used it and it ended up cracking by seasons end at a cool $100 bucks, even back in 90'! I cannot believe you are showing one a week after it came to mind, and I was just being nostalgic!

[@heyoverhere8234]

I'm sure I played on that team. Or one exactly like it.

[@lancetaylor6437]

I graduated in 91. My high school team had one of those ceramic bats. It sucked so bad. It literally broke in half during batting practice. I want to see you swing an Easton black magic. That bat had some pop.

[@cobbler88]

I was playing Legion baseball in '89. None of us liked that bat, and only a few could stand the Louisville Slugger TPX bats .

[@MarsellusWallace92]

Ole black magic 🤙🏻

[@BrandonGavin_EDC]

Nothing compares to my late little league/into high school Reflex C Cores! Best bats ever.

[@samsally3581]

Red line/ reflex winners

[@bob-a-louannamaria7960]

@@cobbler88TPX was the superior bat in 90’s and 2000s

[@johnscustomsaws]

Some day that grocery store roof is gonna collapse from the 32 million baseballs Will put up there 😂

[@thomasembree7314]

I can remember the Easton C Core bats of the mid 90's being super hot bats. What a throwback to funtimes of hitting with hot metal bats.

[@ACIDICcitric]

It’s funny I was thinking about this bat since I discovered your channel. My high school baseball coach had one of these ceramic bats and he said it was same as aluminum but feels like wood - nice to see it in action since he never let the bay out of his sight

[@slickdog78]

I remember when these came out when I was playing in a 7-10 year old league. Everyone wanted to swing it, until they swung it. Then everyone went back to their favorite aluminum bat.

[@Beefry222]

The bell-tower "booong" at 2:54 is all you need to know about that beast

[@carlsmith6889]

My first ever “high-end” Bat was this very ceramic Easton…god did I hate miss-hits😂. I also ended my high school career with this model Reflex. So, thanks for the nostalgia on this one, Will!

[@NoName-qs6ei]

Carl Smith is the name of the softball fields I used to play at. Tulsa?

[@juliebraden6911]

​@@NoName-qs6eilol don't you think that would be a pretty common name?

[@NoName-qs6ei]

@@juliebraden6911 you never know lol

[@PlanetMeathead]

Great video showing the history of bat innovation. A few years later they released the j series "graphite" composite before the OG "c core" which lead to reflex and Z2k/redline C-Core. Would be awesome to interview an old Easton engineer.

[@yell0wberry]

I actually have the reflex, the graphite, and the Y2K. The ladder is still sold on some auction sites for close to $1000 and above

[@Jpee817]

I remember in 1994-1998 I loved my Easton EA70. It had such a sweet spot.

[@brettlabelle5668]

Ceramic fibers made their way into tennis racquets in the late 1980s, as well. They actually helped a bit with vibration dampening, for the most part. It looks like that attribute didn't carry over into the baseball applications.

[@AcrylicGoblin]

I found them all disappointing. A small vibration dampener adequately reduced vibration and maintained the performance of carbon fiber.

[@918_xDx]

brittleness was the biggest issue

[@BrandonGavin_EDC]

@@918_xDxceramic is insanely hard but also super brittle.

[@DefendTheStar]

I remember getting the vibration damper for my tennis racquet in the early 90s 😂

[@DouglasNowcom]

In the 90s I had a Reflex slow pitch bat and it was unreal. I loved that bat.

[@mlb4747]

My brother used this bat! I actually hit my first BP homerun with this bat. What a sound!

[@kczcb4697]

Love the sting reference! He was a fan of bat’s as well. Who knows he could have used a hot Easton in the square circle. Guessing it was a cheap bat though

[@jscotty76]

My heart is broken! I had this bat my first two years of high school 90-92 and it was the best bat I ever hit with…until I cracked it. Never found another one to replace it. You saying the bat sucks has crushed my memories of my all-time favorite bat…lol

[@mikeleon8214]

I have one of these bats in my "collection" of vintage baseball gear. I was playing in High School when these came out.

[@j.t.daulton4635]

I went through like 2 or 3 of the Reflex. They were so hot but they dented in about a week if you hit a bunch.

[@DennisMeschon]

For you next video you should do a video with "The Goods" and the "Icon" to see what is the best bat. I can't choose which is better. Like a Home Run Derby with "The Goods" or the "Icon".

[@lightningmusky5286]

I had one of those until I shattered it. Had more pop if you put it somewhere warm. It also came with an Easton bat sleeve. They replaced mine with an the the silver and green bat with the clear end cap. Favorite bat is a Worth Copperhead Cryo where they froze the metal to give it more pop!

[@joshuarumbut5410]

Those Cryo bats sounded so cool when I was in Little League, never got to try one.

[@918_xDx]

worth had some very expensive very hot but what we called "single tournament" bats as they damn near shatter in the cold and died after they launched just a few baseballs into orbit. They also brought tears on a mishit LoL... super thin super stiff handle... the sound was 🤌 when you connected tho and literally everyone knew it was a ringer when you heard that note

[@treyhdez495]

Will is my favorite KZbinr

[@Frosty_tha_Snowman]

My dad used an Easton C-Core, Reflex, and Black Magic 😂 my brother "borrowed" them and then sold them when he found out they were worth quite a bit. The only one we have left is the TPX Lazer.

[@yooitsandy1298]

You guys should do a video comparing all of the Louisville slugger selects from when they started to become end-loaded from the years 2017 to 2023 showing the main differences between and comparing them between the years and showing which are really worth it

[@dallassmith1349]

Gotta give that bat another shot in warmer weather. It will feel a lot different. We put ours “in hibernation” when the temps started to drop.

[@juliebraden6911]

I grew up in Florida so a lot of my friends loved this bat. Kinda confusing to see it get hate but that makes sense. Hated up north but loved down south.

[@ryanallensworth3734]

Damn I'm old I remember our HS coach bought the team one of those ceramic bats and it's just how I remembered , I used it in the cage one time and went right back to my Easton black magic which had the best sweet spot out of all the bats in late 80s. Todays bats are sooo much better.

[@MattSikon]

The bat I used back in the 90s was the Easton Black Magic it was the best I ever used.

[@furiogiunta7886]

same

[@knightrdrx]

nice I remember a kid had that one at my baseball camp in 1992 when I was 13. Also tried a Graphite one and it was so light 21oz . I loved that one. they were both over $100.

[@wyattl.4023]

Sticking with Easton, can y’all do a review on the MAV1 and the ROPE?

[@kevyor3260]

I died at the “stings” with three sting pictures lol

[@BrandonGavin_EDC]

The reflex will forever be the GOAT. Everyone on my all star teams had that bat, into high school ball.

[@scottgeertsen4049]

I had the second generation of the ceramic bat. It was dark gray with black lettering. I loved it. Had it just before high school. Felt like the Hulk when I broke it on a double.

[@TerryBollea1]

My teammates cracked SO many of these!!! But....I did hit my one and only no doubter with one.

[@Daddygoodfun]

I want to see the 90’s Black Magic Easton. That was my hammer back then. That bat the most pop of anything

[@furiogiunta7886]

Yes, I used the Easton Black Magic, I felt it had the most pop of any model bat Easton had.

[@zachjones1716]

Ceramics engineering is pretty cool. They make these little pieces of glass (type of ceramic) for science shows that you can't break easily, but if you chip a little tab off it shatters. Neat stuff

[@cartergarnon6299]

C555 Platinum was ceramic and phenomenal. Even better 5 years down the road after it cracked. I hit a 500’ bomb in the first inning of an all-star game. If I can still find the article on google I’ll post it. There were a handful of very good ceramic bats in the 90’s and 00’s though.

[@robroman1773]

I used to use that bat when I was 14 and I loved it.

[@TheEngineeringFamily]

I mean... it's not exactly the same material as what they use for cookware :) But it was still a cool iteration... I assumed they stopped making them because the weight/COR just wasn't there. It is kinda the opposite of a mythical titanium bat (which would destroy all other bats)

[@jackland454]

My friend had this in 10 or 11u! What a memory man the ceramic bat.

[@gwcrispi]

These were all the rage when I was playing competitive league softball. I may still have one in the basement.

[@fishlovme]

I remember those bats! My brother wanted one so bad but my parents refused to pay that much for a bat. One of his friends had one and they loved it. I believed they stopped making them because they found they cracked real easily. Also, back in around 1990 or so they were about 300 bucks if I remember correctly. I can't believe how much some bats go for nowadays! I went to the local Goodwill store and bought my son a bat for 5 bucks! No way was I spending a ton of money just so my kid could "possibly" hit a little further!

[@robbieevans6592]

My nostalgia bat was the Easton EA70 series ultralight (-9, granted I was 13). Man I loved that thing.

[@chrisjones9870]

My dad has this bat and I waited for the day that it would be reviewed. He got it from trading baseball cards for the bat.

[@TheEngineeringFamily]

It truly is a composite bat... it was reinforced with fiber... I guess in a way it was more like fiberglass than a true ceramic.

[@JJJ-ep1xu]

Wills swing and consistency has drastically improved the past few years. Or perhaps he just got better at editing & posts only the good swings. Professional KZbinr HR hitter - my dream job.

[@quick04sti]

Remember a body having one of these in little. They also had a graphite one as well. I have one of the reflex reds myself

[@castlebravocrypto1615]

I haven't seen an Easton "green bat" since I was 10!!! Had to be spot on with it to get anything good, but I remember those bee stings and ringers in the hands

[@johnnash9072]

I had a 34 in 34oz Easton Ceramic bat that I used for 4 years in the 90s. I bought it in 92 and it was white with black lettering. It was brutal on the hands unless you barreled it, but when I did that ball flew like a rocket and you wouldn't feel a thing. All the bats stung back then when it was on your hands.

[@juliebraden6911]

Those bats taught us where the barrel really is the hard way. You had the sweet spot and the "give me a couple minutes to get the feeling back in my hands" spot.

[@firewater652]

I remember the gold plated Easton, that thing was a tank.. I hit over the fence, that was after my coach told me not to use it because he thought it was to heavy.. He came up to me after the fact and said you use that bad every single time.

[@MrBlackFabio]

That 1997 Easton Reflex might be the best bat I have seen on The Baseball Bat Bros. Watching Will swing the 1989 Easton Ceramic made my hands hurt.

[@Haryazz]

"stings" its beautiful edit gems in life that make it all worth it.

[@bradolsen3066]

You guys should track down the old air attack. Graduated in 99…. That and the reflex were the shit back then! Damn I miss those days

[@rustybumperclassics6342]

I had a ceramic and a graphite bat. My dad got them from some close out store in the 90s. The ceramic would ring your hands up good.

[@s1lvercobra526]

I have a softball ceramic Easton!!! It was my dads. Lol. I did Hit a in the park home run with it.

[@freedomstar3814]

It's amazing that I pitched in high school during the Reflex era and never gave up a home run. But then again I could not throw a football 7 miles !

[@rantanamo]

Giventhat we were kids,the rumor around Mt baseball park was always that the biggest strongest kid in our league shattered one during an at bat. I think it was because we misinterpreted the ceramic part to mean delicate like ceramic plates or cups.

[@mikeh.9954]

I played 30 years in highschool & if I recall ... Worth had a ceramic bat as well.

[@dapper189]

I have a ceramic Easton! Someone left it at the ball park, there was no name on it. Mine ever since. 28/34 MDL SC1.

[@linners55]

Those bats feel/hit so much better when they are warm. We used to take them out of our bags and sit them in the sun when we got to the field - ready to go by game time.

[@juliebraden6911]

This practice used to be common with wood bats too.

[@jacobmccain8082]

I had both of those bats, the Easton and the reflex. Also had a white TPX that I still have laying around somewhere.

[@jotunblod]

Loved those TPXs. They were the HR hitter bats around here where I grew up.

[@ffstone77ify]

I've got an original graphite from Easton, early 90s bat. It was really hot. It's a 34-31. I swung it when I was 13 and dropped bombs.

[@TerryHughes-l1c]

I had one as well it was nasty

[@ffstone77ify]

@@TerryHughes-l1c I believe it was the original PING sounding bat. I loved it. Got it hanging on my wall.

[@TerryHughes-l1c]

@@ffstone77ify mine was a drop 5 and gun metal gray

[@ffstone77ify]

@TerryHughes-l1c I had the original one. They didn't come in anything but drop 3. This back in 91. The drop 5s back in my day were the skinny barrel bats. If you wanted the big barrel you had to go straight to drop 3. So I went straight to 32/29 at 12, then straight to 34/31 at 13. I also grew over 8 inches too which helped. I wasn't exactly normal either.

[@bljames81]

Oh wow had wondered if the Easton ceramic would ever find its way on the Baseball Bat Bros. My dad purchased one for me when I was in little league, 90 or 91…an expensive haggle he wasn’t happy about but it was the new thing at the time…but man, I’ll never forget how much it hurt on mis-hits, especially as a youngster…I remember one cold-evening practice when I was 9 or 10 getting teary eyed in frustration because I wanted to swing with full confidence but making contact was unbearable. Looking back, I think it’s selling point was nothing but deceptive…getting barrel/sweet spot felt so smooth because anywhere else required a level of discomfort and pain tolerance.

[@mike5805]

You need to have another derby, but once the boys get their bats, you bring out the corndog and whip the shit out of that derby. I loved the corndog video. It was funny, and surprised the hell out of everyone. Keep the videos coming brother.

[@itralian16]

I still have my ceramic 33in 29oz….best bat I ever had back in the day. It was a killer. Called me a cheater. Never used gloves and never got rattled by it. Get some hands bro! Lolol 😂😂😂😂

[@Patmagroin22]

Had that bat in high school. Lasted about two weeks before it cracked and spider webbed in multiple spots. Thank god for warranties!

[@brianmfournier]

One of my buddies had it in little league and the thing shattered on a foul ball

[@jackmehoff6302]

Someone on my team had a little league version. The graphite bats were also popular. I was always a tpx guy

[@cobbler88]

I was playing Legion baseball in 1989. I remember NONE of us caring for the ceramic version of the "Green Easton" at all. Those and the early LS TPX bats just felt wrong.

[@joseph1150]

I didn't ever hear about drop when I played baseball in the 90s, I played for the Pony sytem mostly. But I was swinging 33 lenght 33 weight bats when I was just 12. Anything lighter and I was getting too far ahead of the pitch. When I stopped playing at 16 I was using a 34 length 33 weight bat. I remember one of our players actually had this bat. It didn't make a satisfying sound is the reason why none of the other players liked it.

[@chirostandard1111]

I had that bat in 1994, it was so awesome

[@billucf96]

This really tells the technology improvements over 30 years.

[@Anasyn_Nysana]

That bat was amazing! I crushed at ball at like 14 or 15 years old over 340.

[@MaxC24_]

You should do an underrated budget bat review. Find the best cheapest bat. Also I love using the 918 prime from 2018 if you could check that hat out

[@robertd2184]

Had one in high school....Hated it!

[@michaellussoro2295]

The hand ring was gnarly on that bat! God damn I remember when it first came out in high school!

[@Obironnkenobi]

That 90's bat was the legit shit. I remember being in Little League and one of the other kids brought one to practice and everyone else wanted to get the same bat. Really well balanced. Didn't ring into your hands. Plus it looked cool as hell. I never got one sadly.

[@sneakyquick]

When I was a kid we just used a basic aluminum bat and my friend had that ceramic bat and I remember it just killing our hands.

[@responder2246]

My brother had a Fiberglass bat in the mid-70's. I think it had the Louisville Slugger trade mark. It had a black/blue rubber grip molded over a steel tube. Hitting with it was like shock treatment. (later it was outlawed because the glue that held the grip would fail and the bat would go flying onto the field). This Ceramic bat seems to be a gimmick imo. Good job.

[@nathanogle3889]

Swung the same bat as a junior in high school in ‘93 only it was all dark gray. And yes it would ring you up if you didn’t dime it up.

[@kconry3078]

The stinging takes back to high school in iowa and the early spring practices.

[@davidrawlings6430]

Was waiting for the ceramic review as I remember it from my college days. I didn't swing it but for a few at bats. Wasn't my thing. That Reflex though, was absolutely not fair. I didn't swing it but for a few at bats because it was NAIA and they didn't provide us with bats and we weren't sponsored so the reflex was owned by a teammate and he let me try it for a couple of ABs.

[@sudo_garrett]

it looks so retro. so clean

[@callmejay05]

I had one at bat with that bat in 1989 as a 13 year old. Took one swing and popped out sky high to the pitcher. Never touched it again.

[@SuperNiner1]

One bat that I would love to see a review of if you could find it is the TPX white shark from the 90’s

[@XxPhil61xX]

Takes me back to my little league days

[@GarageDwellerPat]

I was in little league when that bat came out. A few of the cool kids bought it. I tried it and hated it. I always used the Easton black magic.

[@drewandrews114]

I still have mine. Bought it in 1991 from Big Five Sporting Goods.

[@georgecolee7663]

You have to find a TPX Armor CB105 Ceramic bat to try for comparison it has a very forgiving profile. At the time my team shared mine because it was the hottest BESR any of us had used. Then we broke it after overuse Louisville replaced it with the newest at the time Omaha BESR it was not nearly as hot. Cheers

[@nwimmer73]

Spoiled with all the hightech bats, I loved that bat.

[@beauar1]

In high school i had a louisville tpx bat and it was gold. It was incredible. Not aure if you have ever found one or tried it

[@BlueshirtFan4Ever]

3:14 That ceramic bat looked a bit intimidating from a distance. 3:54 That must've stung so, so damn bad. ⚡🧤⚾😫

[@canadapreston5452]

I wanted this bat so bad, good to know I wasn’t missing much😂

[@cr2814]

Next try Louisville Air Attack 2. I used both Reflex and Air Attack 2 in college. And the Air Attack 2 had a lot more pop

[@cadenkolesar48]

This before the Mav1 review is crazy

[@CalderaFinance]

I heard Vince Genna. No way! I live in Madras. Home of Jacoby Ellsbury. Seen many an Elk game there. Also one season I did play by play on local radio and PA announcing.

[@James_St._James]

I remember those bats. One of the kids on my team had one and it broke during a game.

[@yetimug9328]

Man I need you guys to compare the OG zen, the icon, and the hype fire 💯

[@jacobjohnson6766]

Miss my Easton reflex. I used drop bombs with that back in HS and college

[@thomasbean7704]

The ceramic bats hurt so freaking bad! It was crazy how bad your hands would sting. You also could not use them in early Spring because there was some type of minimum temperature requirement. I seen several crack during collegiate play.

[@ApeShat]

I have got to send in my old Easton Magnum if you want stings. It was a 34 - 30

[@MrSteve88]

my 10 year old hands still have PTSD from using this in cold weather practices back in 1993. absolutely brutal

[@gibber1944]

I bought that ceramic bat back in the day and used it for less than half a season before selling it to some sucker err.....guy on another team. I bought into the hype and we didn't have KZbin to easily get opinions on the new stuff.