The fact of wood bats is that any one of them can be shattered. Nevertheless, with some awareness and the right bat, they have been known to last a long, long time. The first thing to do to cut down breakage is to appreciate that the placement of the trademark is not by accident. As no two trees are identically, no two bats are similar either. The trademark is placed on a space, which has the greatest chance of failing. The exact opposite side of the trademark is also a place where bats will more likely to fail too. Take a close look and you will see how the grain runs and why this is true. So the simple rule of prevention here is’ Bat with LABEL UP OR LABEL DOWN.
The old time professional wood bats were the size of a red wood tree. They weighed as much as five men could handle and could knock down a block wall with one whack. Dominant men like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb wielded these manly bats with a talent and exactness that no modern day baseball pro could ever dream to have.
Then again, Ruth and Cobb didn’t have hurlers that registered triple-digit with their fastballs. They didn’t face the advanced and near magical pitching approach of the Braves bullpen or the Yankees superstars. Today’s batters want to fight fire with fire, and so the technology behind today’s professional bats has to match the velocity and motion of today’s professional pitchers.
Superstar hitters like Derek Jeter and Scott Rolen rely on the best professional wood bats out there to give them a shot. Compared to the mythic sluggers of baseball golden days, today’s batters trust in lighter weight bats that also have thinner handles.
True current science comes into the way that many of today’s bats are cup balance. This involves removing as much as three-quarters of an ounce of wood out of the end of the barrel to make the bat lighter. A lighter bat means a faster swing, and a faster swing means a farther drive. Experts estimate that as many as 30 percent of today’s players use a cup balanced bat.
Today’s professional wood bats mostly come from wood from the white ash tree. Some players, though, have been experimenting with wood from maple trees. No matter the tree or the amount of wood they spoon out, though, today’s batters still have to be able to have the hand quickness, touch, know-how, and vision to make that contact. Bats can only help you out so much, even if they are as big as a red wood.
With wood, it usually takes a bit more to get the bat through the contact zone, so start your swing earlier (sooner). This is great training for numerous reasons; one being that you’ll be even quicker with your aluminum bat!
William Smith lives in Florida with his wife and three cats. William writes frequently on many subjects that may be of interest to all. Discover all the joys and secrets of baseball at Baseball’s Holy Grail
