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A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than Template:Convert in diameter at the thickest part and no more than Template:Convert in length.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although historically bats approaching Template:Convert or 48 oz were swung,<ref name="Bleacher">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> modern bats of Template:Convert are common, topping out at Template:Convert.<ref name="Bleacher"/>
DesignEdit
A baseball bat is divided into several regions. The "barrel" is the thick part of the bat, where it is meant to hit the ball. The part of the barrel best for hitting the ball, according to construction and swinging style, is often called the "sweet spot." The end of the barrel is called the "top", "end", or "cap" of the bat. Opposite the cap, the barrel narrows until it meets the "handle", which is comparatively thin, so that batters can comfortably grip the bat in their hands. Sometimes, especially on metal bats, the handle is wrapped with a rubber or tape "grip". Finally, below the handle is the "knob" of the bat, a wider piece that keeps the bat from slipping from a batter's hands.Template:Citation needed
"Lumber" is an often-used slang term for a bat, especially when wielded by a particularly able batter.Template:Citation needed
The "bat drop" of a bat is its weight, in ounces, minus its length, in inches. For example, a 30-ounce, 33-inch-long bat has a bat drop of minus 3 (30 − 33 = −3). Larger bat drops help to increase swing speed, due to less mass per unit length; smaller drops create more power, due to greater momentum to transfer to the ball.Template:Citation needed
HistoryEdit
The bat's form has become more refined over time. In the mid-19th century, baseball batters were known to shape or whittle their own bats by hand, which resulted in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and weights. For example, there were flat bats, round bats, short bats, and fat bats. Earlier bats were known to be much heavier and larger than modern regulated ones. During the 19th century, many experimental shapes and handle designs were tried. Modern bats are much more uniform in design.Template:Fact
InnovationsEdit
- On June 17, 1890, Emile Kinst received Template:US Patent the ball-bat, or banana bat. The bat is shaped with a curve, hence the name banana bat. The creator of the bat, Kinst wrote: "The object of my invention is to provide a ball-bat which shall produce a rotary or spinning motion of the ball in its flight to a higher degree than is possible with any present known form of ball-bat, and thus to make it more difficult to catch the ball, or if caught, to hold it, and thus further to modify the conditions of the game".
- The mushroom bat, made in 1906 by Spalding. With baseball bats being larger in the 1900s the Spalding company designed a larger bat with a mushroom-shaped knob on the handle. This enabled the batter to get a better distribution of weight over the entire length of the bat.
- The Wright & Ditson Lajoie baseball bat. This bat had a normal size barrel but had two knobs on the handle. The lower knob was at the bottom of the handle and the other knob, also called the shoulder, was three inches above the lower knob. This was designed to have better spacing between the hands due to the shoulder being in the middle of the grip. This also gave batters an advantage when they choked up on the bat, because the second knob provided a better grip.Template:Fact
- In 1990, Bruce Leinert came up with the idea of putting an axe handle on a baseball bat. He filed a patent application for the "Axe Bat" in 2007 and the bat started being used in the college and pro ranks over the following years. In 2012, the Marietta College Pioneers baseball team won the NCAA Division III World Series using axe-handled bats.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Several Major League Baseball players have adopted the bat handle including Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, George Springer, Kurt Suzuki and Dansby Swanson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Template:AnchorTemplate:Anchor In 2025, the New York Yankees popularized a Template:Anchor"torpedo bat" design, which was made to increase contact hitting. The widest diameter of the bat is lower down than on standard bats, making the bat look more like a bowling pin. The bat quickly generated media coverage as the Yankees hit a franchise record nine home runs in their second game, the first three home runs being hit on the first three pitches. MLB stated the new design was legal as it did not exceed the maximum allowed diameter of 2.61 inches (6.6 cm) nor technically go against anything stated in the rules. The "torpedo bat" was designed by Aaron Leanhardt, a field coordinator with the Miami Marlins.<ref name=":0" /> Leanhardt has a Ph.D in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Banana bat.gif
Patent No. 430,388 (June 17, 1890) awarded to Emile Kinst for an "improved ball-bat"
- Bottle bat.jpg
Heinie Groh and his signature "bottle bat"
- Torpedo bat.png
Diagram of a 'Torpedo bat'. The maximum diameter and the length of a torpedo bat are equal to the dimensions of a standard bat
Materials and manufactureEdit
Baseball bats are made of either hardwood or a metal alloy (typically aluminum). Most wooden bats are made from ash; other woods include maple, hickory, and bamboo. Hickory has fallen into disfavor over its greater weight, which slows down bat speed, while maple bats gained popularity<ref name="SciAm1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> following the introduction of the first major league sanctioned model in 1997. The first player to use one was Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays.<ref name="Canadian Sports Magazine 2008, p. 8">Canadian Sports Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 3, August 2008, p. 8, (Publication Mail Agreement #40993003, Oakville, ON)</ref> Barry Bonds used maple bats the seasons he broke baseball's single-season home run record in 2001, and the career home run record in 2007.<ref name="Canadian Sports Magazine 2008, p. 8"/> In 2010, the increased tendency of maple bats to shatter caused Major League Baseball to examine their use, banning some models in minor league play.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Manufacturers position each bat's label over the mechanically weaker side of the wood.<ref name="woodbat.org"/> To reduce chance of fracture,<ref name="woodbat.org"/> and maybe deliver more energy to the ball,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a bat is intended to be held so the label faces sky or ground when it strikes the ball during a horizontal swing.<ref name="woodbat.org">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In this orientation, the bat is considered stiffer and less likely to break.<ref name="mlb.mlb.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Different types of wood will fracture differently.<ref name=hitting>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For bats made of ash, labels will generally be where the grain spacing is widest. For maple bats they will usually be positioned where grain is tightest.Template:Fact
Maple bats in particular were once known (circa 2008) to potentially shatter in a way that resulted in many sharp edges, sometimes creating more dangerous projectiles when Template:Nowrap Maple bat manufacture evolved significantly, in cooperation with Major League Baseball, paying special attention to grain slope, and including an ink spot test to confirm safest wood grain orientation.<ref name="mlb.mlb.com"/>
Based on consistent anecdotal reports of sales at sporting goods stores, and because of the Emerald ash borer epidemic, maple appears to be displacing ash as most popular new baseball bat material in the United States. Next and rising in popularity is bamboo, which has more isotropic fine grain, great strength, and less weight for a bat of any given size.Template:Citation needed
Within league standards there is ample latitude for individual variation, many batters settling on their own bat profile, or one used by a successful batter. Formerly, bats were hand-turned from a template with precise calibration points but more recently they are machine-turned to a fixed metal template. Historically significant templates may be kept in a bat manufacturers' vault; for example, Babe Ruth's template, which became popular among major-league players, is R43 in the Louisville Slugger archives.<ref name=brchthnh>Template:Cite news</ref> Ruth favored a thinner handle than was the norm in the 1920s, and his success caused most to follow.<ref name=brchthnh/> Ruth used an unusually large bat, which he reduced in size incrementally during his career. In 1920 he was using a 40-inch, 54-ounce bat, made of ash, with a slender handle.<ref>"Playing The Game, My Early Years in Baseball." Babe Ruth, 1920, United News, syndicated in numerous newspapers including the Atlanta Constitution. Republished 2011 Dover Publications, Mineola, NY. p. 29 in this book.</ref> In 1928 he wrote, "A few seasons ago I used a 54 ounce bat, long and with the weight well at the end. Now I'm using a 46 ounce club--and each season when I have a new set of bats made, I have an addition ounce taken off."<ref>"Babe Ruth's Own Book Of Baseball," George Herman Ruth, 1928, G.P. Putnam's Sons, NY. p. 171.</ref>
Once the basic bat has been turned, it has the manufacturer's name, the serial number, and often the signature of the player endorsing it branded into it opposite the wood's best side. Honus Wagner was the first player to endorse and sign a bat. Next, most bats are given a rounded head, but some 30%Template:Citation needed of players prefer a "cup-balanced" head, in which a cup-shaped recess is made in the head, introduced to the major leagues in the early 1970s by José Cardenal;<ref name=brchthnh/> this lightens the bat and moves its center of gravity toward the handle. Finally, the bat is stained in one of several standard colors, including natural, red, black, and two-tone blue and white.Template:Fact
Environmental threat to ash woodEdit
The emerald ash borer, an exotic beetle imported accidentally from Asia, has killed more than 50 million white ash trees in the eastern United States and in 2017 threatened groves in New York's Adirondack Mountains that are used to make baseball Template:Nowrap
RegulationsEdit
In the American major leagues, Rule 1.10(a) states:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.
Bats are not allowed to be hollowed or corked—that is, filled with an alien substance such as cork which reduces the weight. This corking is thought to increase bat speed without greatly reducing hitting power, though this idea was challenged as unlikely on the Discovery Channel series MythBusters.<ref>Mythbusters, season 5 (Corked Bat)</ref>
Both wooden and metal alloy (generally aluminum) bats are generally permitted in amateur baseball. Metal alloy bats are generally regarded as being capable of hitting a ball faster and farther with the same power. However, increasing numbers of "wooden bat leagues" have emerged in recent years, reflecting a trend back to wood over safety concerns and, in the case of collegiate summer baseball wood-bat leagues, to better prepare players for the professional leagues that require wood bats. Metal alloy bats can send a ball towards an unprotected pitcher's head up to Template:Convert away at a velocity far too high for the pitcher to get out of the way in time. Some amateur baseball organizations enforce bat manufacturing and testing standards which attempt to limit maximum ball speed for wood and non-wood bats.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>"Bat-testing regulations modified" Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>"Baseball Rules Committee Focuses on Clarification of Bat Standards and Sportsmanship During Pre-Game Practice" Template:Webarchive</ref>
In high school baseball in the United States:
- The bat is not permitted to be more than Template:Convert in diameter in proximity to width and length.
- Its "drop" (inches of length minus ounces of weight) must be no more than 3: for example, a 34-inch (863.6‑mm) bat must weigh at least Template:Convert.<ref>NCHSAA Baseball Template:Webarchive</ref>
- The bat may consist of any safe solid uniform material; the National Federation of State High School Associations rules state only "wood or non-wood" material.
- To be legally used in a game, an aluminum bat has to be a BBCOR (Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution) bat because it has been determined that a pitcher loses the ability to protect himself when this ratio is exceeded.Template:Citation needed
In some 12-year-old-and-under youth leagues (such as Little League baseball), the bat may not be more than Template:Convert in diameter.<ref>2007 Regulation & Rule Changes Template:Webarchive</ref> However, in many other leagues (like PONY League Baseball, and Cal Ripken League Baseball), the bat may not be more than Template:Convert in diameter.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>
There are limitations to how much and where a baseball player may apply pine tar to a baseball bat. According to Rule 1.10(c) of the Major League Baseball Rulebook, it is not allowed more than 18 inches up from the bottom handle. An infamous example of the rule in execution is the Pine Tar Incident on July 24, 1983. Rules 1.10 and 6.06 were later changed to reflect the intent of Major League Baseball, as exemplified by the league president's ruling. Rule 1.10 now only requires that the bat be removed from the game if discovered after being used in a game; it no longer necessitates any change to the results of any play which may have taken place.Template:Fact
Rule 6.06 refers only to bats that are "altered or tampered with in such a way to improve the distance factor or cause an unusual reaction on the baseball. This includes, bats that are filled, flat-surfaced, nailed, hollowed, grooved or covered with a substance such as paraffin, wax, etc." It no longer makes any mention of an "illegally batted ball". In 2001, MLB approved the use of Gorilla Gold Grip Enhancer in major and minor league games as an alternative to pine tar.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Care and maintenanceEdit
Players can be very particular about their bats. Ted Williams cleaned his bats with alcohol every night and periodically took them to the post office to weigh them. "Bats pick up condensation and dirt lying around on the ground," he wrote, "They can gain an ounce or more in a surprisingly short time." Ichiro Suzuki also took great care that his bats did not accumulate moisture and thus gain weight: he stored his bats in humidors, one in the club house and another, a portable one, for the road. Rod Carew fought moisture by storing his bats in a box full of sawdust in the warmest part of his house. "The sawdust acts as a buffer between the bats and the environment," he explained, "absorbing any moisture before it can seep into the wood."<ref name="www.baseballexplained.com">Baseball Explained by Phillip Mahony, McFarland Books, 2014. See www.baseballexplained.com Template:Webarchive</ref>
Many players "bone" their bats, meaning that before games, they rub their bats repeatedly with a hard object, believing this closes the pores on the wood and hardens the bat. Animal bones are a popular boning material, but rolling pins, soda bottles and the edge of a porcelain sink have also been used. Pete Rose had his own way of hardening his bats: he soaked them in a tub of motor oil in his basement then hung them up to dry.<ref name="www.baseballexplained.com"/>
Fungo batEdit
A fungo bat is a specially designed bat used by baseball and softball coaches for practice. The etymology of the word fungo (Template:IPAc-en) is uncertain, but the Oxford English Dictionary suggests it is derived from the Scots fung: "to pitch, toss, or fling".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary entry for "Fungo", http://www.oed.com/</ref> A fungo is longer and lighter than a regulation bat, with a smaller diameter. The bat is designed to hit balls tossed up in the air by the batter, not pitched balls.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Typical fungo bats are Template:Convert long and weigh Template:Convert. Coaches hit many balls during fielding practice, and the weight and length allow the coach to hit balls repeatedly with high accuracy. The small diameter also allows coaches to easily hit pop-ups to catchers and infielders along with ground balls due to better control of the barrel of the bat.Template:Fact
As a weaponEdit
Baseball bats are often used as weapons by civilians,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> criminals, protesters,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and mobsters.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Factors that made the baseball bat a popular weapon include:
- Price: Baseball bats are cheaper to buy and easier to maintain than firearms or bladed weapons.
- Legality: Unlike firearms, bladed weapons, pepper spray, or stun guns, baseball bats are not considered a weapon by many jurisdictions due to being sporting equipment. However, some jurisdictions may ban carrying sporting equipment in public without good reason.
- Ease of access: Baseball bats are freely available in stores such as sporting goods stores. They don't require a background check, license, or permit.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- Ease of use: Baseball bats (like many other bludgeon weapons) only require the user to swing at the target in order for it to be effective and are relatively easy to carry.
- Diversity: Baseball bats come in various sizes from T-ball bats to full size bats. They can cater to the user's strength, size, and available storage places.Template:Fact
See alsoEdit
- Baseball doughnut
- Composite baseball bat
- Cricket bat
- List of baseball bat manufacturers
- Pink bat
- Softball bat
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Physics and Acoustics of Baseball and Softball Bats—How baseball bats work, how bat performance is measured, differences between wood, metal, and composite bats
- Woodturning Online—Making a Baseball Bat
- "Maple, Ash Baseball Bats May Strike Out". Talk of the Nation. National Public Radio, July 4, 2008.