The 2007 Wrath is going to be Mizuno’s new flagship bat for its softball line and it is a combination of new technology and the best elements from the previous Techfire line.
The Wrath 98 is Mizuno’s top-of-the-line ASA-approved bat. It is 100% composite and meets the 98-mph batted ball exit speed maximum.
It features Mizuno’s exclusive Complex Composite Construction, a unique combination of Fiber Reinforced Plastic through the entire shell with a Filament Wound Composite pipe inserted into the wall of the barrel. This filament pipe replaces the aluminum layer found in the barrel of previous Techfires with a combination of glass fibers. The FRP shell is tough and resistant to breaking. The FWC pipe maximizes performance by allowing the barrel to flex more than previous Techfires.
The FWC pipe is similar to the barrel construction of the 2006 Envy, but it has been lengthened and improved to provide a measurable 72% more sweet spot in the 2007 Wrath 98.
New is Mizuno’s “Active Flex” in the taper, a new design that allows for 8% greater flex through the swing.
It has the same 11-inch barrel that was featured in the Techfire Fury, but it features an increased Sweet Area thanks to the all-composite construction pioneered in the Techfire Blur and improved in the Envy. And like the Envy, Mizuno has given the Wrath a two-tone paint job to help illustrate its “Sweet Area” – the handle and end are red while the barrel is black. The bright color is designed to give the hitter a better idea of the size of the bat’s live hitting surface.
It has the thinnest handle ever in a Mizuno with a rubberized clear plastic end cap and a raised, cushioned synthetic grip. It is available in 34 inches and 26-28 and 30 ounces but swings a little heavy due to its shape.
The Wrath is allowed in ASA, USSSA, NSA, ISA and ISF play.
We hit the 27 oz. version.
Some time after the release and subsequent splash made by the 2007 Mizuno Wrath 1.20, Mizuno followed up with a Wrath model for ASA play.
The testers didn’t know what to expect with this bat. Those that had already hit the Wrath 1.20 were prepared to be disappointed; after all, the Wrath 98 couldn’t possibly have the same performance as the 100+ model. Those that hadn’t hit the Wrath 1.20 weren’t prepared to love it either as many of them had not hit a Mizuno since the underachieving Blur.
Both groups were pleasantly surprised. Actually, bowled over might be a better description.
“For feel, for performance, for pure pop, this bat is unbelievable,” said one tester who immediately after trying the
Wrath 98 went out and purchased one. “I haven’t warmed up to a bat this quickly or been this impressed since the Easton Synergy 2.”
Like with the 1.20 model, power hitters gravitate to this bat for a couple of reasons. The handle is thin; as part of the Active Flex taper it is designed to add whip, and that is also the preferred power hitter’s shape. The barrel is short; the FWC pipe allows for a large sweet spot even though the barrel is 11”, and the short barrel has always been favored by home run hitters and has been almost extinct since the invention of the composite bat. And it is slightly end loaded; the load helps speed the bat through the hitting zone and also helps move the sweet spot toward the end of the barrel, and it helps pull hitters and power hitters perform more consistently that balanced bats.
What we have found through repeated testing of BPF 1.20 standard bats and 98 mph standard bats is that the difference in distance between similar models is usually about 20 feet. But not with the Wraths; the average difference in distance between these two is often less than 10 feet.
The Wrath has a healthy “crack” sound at impact – it is one of the loudest bats we hit. The cushioned handle, the one used by Mizuno since the 2005 Blur, is still a bone of contention with players either loving it or hating it; there is no middle ground.
Mizuno claims the new taper dramatically increases flex and it seems to be true. They have improved the feel, both while swinging it or just standing still holding it.
This is a bat has a slight end load – ASA does not allow as dramatic a load as USSSA – but it is a bat that anyone can use. It is designed like a power hitter’s bat and does deliver the punch, but line drive hitters, opposite field hitters and women hitting the 11” tournament ball all had success with it too.
The short barrel really did not bother any of the testers, however, if you are not a power hitter and are uncomfortable with an end load or short barrel, Mizuno is planning at 14” barrel balanced Wrath later in the year.
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