Quick Take
After 2,430 swings across 14 DeMarini Voodoo models from 2011 to 2020, the 2016 Voodoo Raw emerged as the top performer, narrowly beating the 2013 Voodoo in our data-driven single-elimination tournament. However, results showed minimal differences across models, reaffirming that player preference and skill often outweigh bat year or marketing hype.
We spent weeks scouring eBay, Sidelineswap and used good forums trying to track down every BBCOR DeMarini Voodoo ever made. They went back to 2011. Eventually, we were successful. (Although the 2019 Voodoo Insane in a 32″ eludes us still).
Method
We acquired fourteen 32-inch DeMarini Voodoos from eBay and SidelineSwap during May and June of 2020. The bats were seeded into a 14-team single-elimination tournament. We based tournament seeds by max exit velocity on three hits from a tee. These hits were performed by a 16-year-old soon-to-be Junior in High School who is 5’9″and 155 pounds.
Individual matches included three hitters hitting each bat 30 times. Hits were from a Mike MP-6 Pitching machine that had a plate speed between 40 and 60mph. The players would alternate bats every five to ten pitches until a total of 30 fair balls and their accompanying exit speeds were recorded on HitTrax. Players only hit the two bats in the matchup at a time. So, each session included 60 swings that induced a fair ball. Among the three hitters, each bat hit no less than 90 fair balls during each round.
All in all, it required 2430 hits to find a champion.
Method
Three points by three hitters were possible in each of the nonfinal rounds. In the final round, five points by five hitters were possible. A bat received a point if its average exit velocity per player outpaced its competition. The bat to win the best of 3 (or best out of 5 for the final) advanced to the next round.
Note, the bat with the highest average exit velocity through the entire 90 hits is not the one that always advanced. Instead, it was the bat that gave the most amount of players the exit speed advantage.
Results
Although we are confident the bats that won this competition are fantastic, it is also reasonable to assume that a different set of hitters would have produced mixed results.
Consider this: the average win/loss difference was 1.2mph. Many bats advanced to the next found on a 2 – 1 count, which could have swung the other way by a sub 1 mph swing. We do believe 90+ hits on each bat is a good comparison, but the best types of bats are often hitter-dependent.
Although we do claim a winner in the Raw, we think every Voodoo bat is a great pick. There isn’t a single dog in a pile, and we’d recommend every single one of them.
In other words, it is not reasonable to assume the Voodoo RAW is better than every Voodoo for every player.
Winner: 2016 Voodoo Raw
After nearly 1,500 recorded swings from nine different hitters, the 2016 DeMarini Voodoo RAW beat the 2013 DeMarini Voodoo in a 3-2 result. Of note, 2013 produced a higher exit speed average over the final 150 hits (77.7 to 77.2). Such a conclusion is possible because the three hitters who did better with the RAW did better by minimal margins (75.6 – 73.6, 77.5 – 77.3 and 78.9 – 78.8) while the two who did better with the 2013 Voodoo had higher margins (80.2 – 78.5, 78.3 – 75.5).
2nd Place: 2013 Voodoo (Black or Crimson)
Although the 2016 Voodoo Raw is crowned the champion in this Voodoo Tournament, the 2013 Crimson Voodoo has plenty of data to support its dominance. Aside from the two losses to the 2016 RAW, the 2013 Voodoo lost only one player match. The 2013 swept the 2020 The Goods and the 2014 Voodoo Overlord and lost one event to the 2018 Voodoo Balanced.
Concerning the rest of the field, no bat did particularly badly. In fact, of the 38 matches required to find a champion, only seven (18%) individual matchups beat by more than 3mph average exit velo. Nineteen matchups had between a 1.0 to 3.0 mph difference. The remaining twelve, or 32% of the matchups, had a margin of difference of less than one mph.
3rd Places: 2020 Voodoo Balanced & 2018 Voodoo Balance
Based on exit speed margins, which were minimal in the final rounds, we think the 2018 Voodoo Balanced and 2019 Voodoo balanced we’re plenty good. Considering, too, you are more likely to find these bats in stock and reasonable shape, the 2020 and 2018 Balanced Voodoos are recommendable as the 2013 and 2016 Raw.
Bracketology Commentary
2020 DeMarini The Goods
The Goods is a fantastic bat. The only real problem is that it got a terrible draw in the tourney. The 2013 mowed down everyone BUT the Voodoo Raw– and even then, had a better average exit velocity on 150 hits. (See our 2020 The Goods Review. Heck, See our 2021 The Goods Review).
2020 DeMarini Voodoo Balanced
A solid, legit, great bat that is unbelievably underrated in the market today. This bat is a better fit, when compared to The Goods, for the vast majority of players. If you want a Voodoo with a warranty and a new life, this is it. (See our 2020 Voodoo Review).
2019 DeMarini Voodoo Balanced
Hard to find, and a great bat—it is the same as the 2020 Voodoo Balanced. But it got mowed down by the 2014 Voodoo Overlord in round 1.
2019 Demarini Voodoo Insane
The Voodoo Insane was the 2nd hardest bat to find in the tournament. We paid some bloke $300 (after he canceled the order for $200). It’s a great bat and took the extremely heavy 2011 Voodoo in a head to head nail biter. But, the 2018 Balanced was too much for it to handle.
2018 DeMarini Voodoo Balanced
It is easily one of the favorites in the tourney that is still somewhat accessible in the secondary market. This bat is all but the same as the 2019 and 2020 Voodoo Balanced and is a no brainer if you can find it for a deal.
2018 Demarini Voodoo Insane
IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND in a 32-inch. We looked everywhere and never could. Eventually, the show must go on, so we just went ahead without it.
2017 Demarini Voodoo Balanced
We struggled to like this one and got beat by 2015 Overlord FT. This has the same connection piece as the RAW which eventually won—so it felt real soft on hits.
2017 DeMarini Voodoo Insane
Like the balanced version of the same year, the connection piece here was harder to fall in love with. But it was toe-to-toe with the 2020 Balanced.
2016 DeMarini Voodoo Raw
The winner, winner, chicken dinner. The connection is really soft—meaning everything feels like a mushball. But, man, it just dropped tanks at every turn. Every hitter got some of their best speeds with this guy.
2015 DeMarini Voodoo Overlord FT
Heavy, strong, seriously fun hit. But, still, no match for the 2020 Voodoo Balanced. This is a great purchase if you can find it for a reasonable secondary market price.
2014 DeMarini Voodoo Paradox
Probably the biggest disappointment. It won pole position with some great tee work but got clapped by the 2016 Raw in a 9/1 upset.
2014 DeMarini Voodoo Overlord
We think one of the best-looking bats, for sure. And it also took the 2019 Balanced to the woodshed. But, any bat that had to go head to head with the 2013 was in an unfair fight.
2013 DeMarini Voodoo
G.A.S.O.L.I.N.E. This is our favorite bat of the bunch in terms of straight feel, balance, and performance. Sadly, it won the popular vote but not the electoral college. What is the hottest bat of the bunch? We’d put it up against any BBCOR bat, ever.
2012 Demarini Voodoo
Weirdly good. We thought this bat was going to be absolutley terrible. But, turns out, it did as well against the RAW as any—including the Paradox, 2020 and 2013.
2011 DeMarini Voodoo Black
These bats are dirt cheap and are the heaviest swinging ones in the Voodoo line, but I don’t think they are good. This bat went to the wire with the 2019 Insane and had to go into tie-breaker rules to get put to rest finally. If you need a big-hitting bat, go old school with the 2011 BBCOR Voodoo.
Conclusions
We know of no head to head bat competition focused as much on data and results like this all-time Best Voodo tournament. As such, in terms of claiming a Voodoo is the best, we submit this model serves as the only way to be able to make a claim.
However, the tight margins across every battle don’t make the Best Voodo claim without criticism.
However, it’s useful to note that the 2016 Raw lost 30% of its head-to-head matchups. In effect, it is making it the lower-performing bat 30% of the time. How can the best Voodoo of all time be the worst-performing bat 1 out of 3 times? It seems like the claim of the Best Voodoo Ever is fair, but far from without criticism.
Consider this, too. A bat-like 2013 lost only three head-to-head battles in the thirteen it competed in, while the 2016 lost five times. As well, the total exit speeds of 2013 in the final over the 150 hits outpaced the 2016 Raw by 0.5 mph.
The Voodoo Has Been Good to Great for a Long Time
Another conclusion: Voodoo has been a fantastic bat line for several years. We were most surprised at how well older bats performed. We thought, for sure, bats from 2011, 2012, and 2013 would suffer from age and a lack of performance limit matching. However, although the 2011 and 2012 lost in the first round, the battles were very close. As well, the 2013 could have won the entire thing had it got 0.2 mph more on two different hitters in the final. It also had the highest average exit velo in the finals. But, due to the electoral college-type result, the 2016 Voodoo Raw won.
The Goods Is Good But Has an Overrated Secondary Market Value
We purchased all 14 bats in the competition. We felt that it would allow us to be less biased in our results. We spent $510 on the DeMarini The Goods—the latest iteration of The Voodoo. It didn’t win.
Overrated doesn’t mean the bat isn’t legit. But, it is worth only a fraction of the $500+ price point the bat was demanding.
Here are the three-player cards showing The Goods’ loss.
Best Value Bats
The 2013 Voodoo was, without a doubt, the best value in the competition. At the time, we bought the bat for less than $50 on Sidelineswap.
We conclude that most old bats selling on the secondary market are going for much less than they should be. Marketing, hype, groupthink, and the belief that bats are much better than they are drive prices to ridiculous levels. We’d guess put the appraisal price of a working 2013 Voodoo (Crimson or Black) at $135 to $175.
Participants and Poll Position Results
The position in the bracket was determined by the max velocity from three tee hits. These hits were taken by a 16-year-old soon to be Junior, who is 5’9″ about 155 pounds. Here are the results.
- 2020 The Goods | 86.1 – 6th
- 2020 Voodoo Balanced | 86.3 – 5th
- 2019 Voodoo Balanced | 86.7 – 3rd
- 2019 Voodoo Insane | 84.8 – 10th
- 2018 Voodoo Balanced | 86.9 – 2nd
- 2017 Voodoo Balanced | 82.8 – 13th
- 2017 Voodoo Insane | 82.9 – 12th
- 2016 Voodoo Raw | 85.4 – 9th
- 2015 Voodoo Overlord FT | 86.6 – 4th
- 2014 Voodoo Overlord FT | 82.7 – 14th
- 2014 Voodoo Paradox | 87.1 – 1st
- 2013 Voodoo (Crimson/Black) | 83.8 – 11th
- 2012 Voodoo | 85.5 – 8th
- 2011 Voodoo Black | 85.6 – 7th
Commentary After the Great 8 Determined
We posted on Instagram after the final eight were determined. Here was our commentary at that time.
1. 2013 has yet to lose a single match. (It’s 6 – 0). But neither has the the 2018. Gonna be a huge battle tomorrow between those two.
2. 2016 Raw is our hands down surprise. No@hitter has yet to prefer its feel and is sure it does worse, but it keeps on winning. We don’t remember liking that bat nearly as much when we first reviewed it back in 2015.
3. We’d recommend these four bats all day.
4. Surprised Overlord FTs didn’t make the final 4. But, they both (14 and 15) made the final 8. 15 lost to the 20 barely, and the 14 got mowed down by the ‘13. But those deserve an honorable mention.
5. The video for this is going to take about 50 hours to put together. Ugh. I’m not looking forward to that.
6. We’ll release all the data, too, when we’ve wrapped up this week.
Swing Weights of the Voodoo from 2011 to 2020 Voodoo and Goods Bats
As we’ve tracked thousands of hits, we know that swing weight contributes considerably to actual bat exit velocity. In fact, most BBCOR bats perform well enough that the actual barrel’s performance has very little to do with actual exit speeds when compared to other BBCOR bats. Instead, the bat’s swing weight combined with the player’s skill are the major factors in bat performance.
As such, we took the time to measure the swing weights of each DeMarini Voodoo and Goods since 2011. Remember, swing weight is not the same as scale weight, and it isn’t the same as the balance point either. Measuring a bat’s swing weight includes calculating its scale weight, pendulum period, and balance point. That, combined with a few physical constants and an otherwise complicated algorithm, generates your swing weight.
The swing weights below are generated from actual DeMarini Voodoos that we purchased on secondary markets (or directly from vendors if they were in stock).
Is The Goods the Voodoo?
In the most obvious sense, the Voodoo and The Goods are different. They do, after all, have different names. But, in the sense that they represent the pinnacle of DeMarini’s two-piece hybrid bat line, they are indeed the same. The Goods is the child of the Voodoo in almost all respects. The connection piece is similar, it swings with the same weight and has the same barrel make up.
The bat is also made for the bigger hitting player who likes an aluminum barrel and the sense they are holding the best the industry offers.
