Snowstorms, cold temperatures and ice … and my thoughts go immediately to baseball! Not that my thoughts ever really drift from baseball but as I write this article, there are only 31 days until Friday, March 6^th. March 6^th is the official beginning of the high school baseball season. With thoughts turning to baseball, it is a good time to make sure that you are ready, not only physically and mentally, but that you also have the proper equipment. There are many options locally and through the web to get what you need.

Dicks Sporting Goods and Sports Authority, both with multiple area locations, offer most of the biggest name brands such as DeMarini, Marucci, Rawlings, Wilson and EvoShield. For top of the line bats, gloves and other essentials, these stores offer only a few top choices, with most of their inventory being equipment that will not last more than a season. Similarly, Modells, also with multiple locations, does not generally carry, what is considered to be the best lines.

Close-Out Bats, located in Westwood, is a great choice for not only bats, but batting helmets and equipment bags. Close-Out Bats often provides a discount greater than the chain stores and also has a cage where you can try-out sample bats before purchasing. The Bergen Batting Center, in River Edge, in addition to its multiple batting cages, also has an extensive high-end glove and bat department and offers a service to help break in your new glove, rather than the old and not recommended way of running it over with your car.

Junior baseball player Matt Lange said, “Close-Out Bats. I buy from Close-out because it’s cheap and hassle free. One day every winter, my dad and I hop over to the store and we get all of our shopping done their for there great prices.”

Farriers, in Wyckoff, is a good choice for some clothing items but is very limited in its selection of actual equipment. Not surprisingly, Baseball Express, which is an online sporting goods website, offers the best selection of every possible item you would ever need from helmets to cleats and everything in between. The chain stores also have websites but Baseball Express has a more extensive selection. One issue to note is that if you do use Baseball Express, order early, because many items are often on back order.

Junior baseball player Zach Waller said, “I buy all of my equipment from baseball express, anything from my bats to gloves to even socks, that’s where I do my shopping.”

Whichever store or website you use, don’t get caught up in the name on the bat or glove but make sure that you choose the equipment that is best for you. The $400.00 bat is not necessarily the right choice for you. Very often a less expensive bat feels better in your hands. If you hit the ball on the sweet spot of the bat, it does not matter whether the bat costs $150.00 or $400.00. Remember with all the options, once you hit with a bat, you cannot return it! I have already completed my shopping and although baseball season never really ends for me, March 6^th cannot come soon enough!