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Baseball Bats: Facts
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Published: December 19, 2006
Baseball bats have undergone a vast evolution throughout the last two centuries. What started as a mere object meant for hitting a ball has become heavily regulated.
In both Major League rules and Minor League rules, there are many facts and regulations about baseball bat sizes and weight. These stem from the major changes in baseball bats throughout time and are meant to keep a balance to the game.
Baseball is America's pastime.
Ever since the early 1800s, baseball has continued to grow as both a spectator's sport and a profitable business. Although the sport's organized version was created by Abner Doubleday, Alexander Cartwright was the man who designed the baseball field and his New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club created the first set of baseball league rules.
Originally there were no rules or regulations for baseball bats. The bat was just a tool used to get a hit. Most players created their own bats, which resulted in a wide variety of baseball bats. Some were skinny and short, while others may have been long and thick. However, player's soon discovered a rounded barrel-shaped bat was the most effective tool to get them from home plate to first base.
In 1859, rules finally were set for baseball bats. Although the length of the bat did not matter at the time, bats were regulated to no thicker than 2.5 in diameter and were allowed to be either round or flat. Ten years later, however, the length was limited to 42 maximum, which is the current ruling.
One of the most popular baseball bats is the Louisville Slugger, which was created in 1884 by a 17-year-old boy named John Hillerich. When he went to a game in Louisville, he offered to replace a bat broken by player Pete Browning. Browning accepted and played a much better game the next day with the bat Hillerich made. This lead to other players taking interest in the bat, and soon everyone wanted a bat made by John Hillerich leading to the birth of the Louisville Slugger. Not much later in the 1890s, rules were changed, stating that baseball bats must be round and could not be flat at the end either, as they were often sawed off. The diameter of the bat also was increased to 2.75 at this time.
There have been many different materials used to make baseball bats in the 20th Century, but Major League players only are allowed to use wooden bats. The metal bat was patented in 1924 by William Shroyer, but was not used in baseball until the 1970s. Over the decades, materials like graphite, titanium and aluminum would be used to make performance enhancing baseball bats.
A new bat came around in 1991, which made the old ash wood baseball bats nearly obsolete. The Baum baseball bat was created with a resin core, filled with fiber and yarn, which made it lighter, bouncier and improved hitting speed by five percent. It still was composed of ash wood on the outside, but inside was game-changing material.
In 2001, Barry Bonds hit his record of 73 homeruns in a single season with a maple wood bat. This led to a surge of players wanting to hit with maple bats instead of ash.
Baseball bats vary in many ways. Usually sizes and weights are decided by the height of the player. Clearly bats have changed a lot since the dawn of baseball and have not reached the end of their evolution yet.
Sources:
Rea, Timothy. The Baseball Bat: An Historical Look at the Great Offensive Equalizer. 2005. P&O WDIS. 14 December 2006. http://www.authenticsignedsports.com/index.php?tex t=bat
Baseball Bat History. 2005. Baseball Bats Net. 14 December 2006. http://www.baseball-bats.net/baseball-bats/basebal l-bat-history/index.html
In both Major League rules and Minor League rules, there are many facts and regulations about baseball bat sizes and weight. These stem from the major changes in baseball bats throughout time and are meant to keep a balance to the game.
Baseball is America's pastime.
Related Articles
Originally there were no rules or regulations for baseball bats. The bat was just a tool used to get a hit. Most players created their own bats, which resulted in a wide variety of baseball bats. Some were skinny and short, while others may have been long and thick. However, player's soon discovered a rounded barrel-shaped bat was the most effective tool to get them from home plate to first base.
In 1859, rules finally were set for baseball bats. Although the length of the bat did not matter at the time, bats were regulated to no thicker than 2.5 in diameter and were allowed to be either round or flat. Ten years later, however, the length was limited to 42 maximum, which is the current ruling.
One of the most popular baseball bats is the Louisville Slugger, which was created in 1884 by a 17-year-old boy named John Hillerich. When he went to a game in Louisville, he offered to replace a bat broken by player Pete Browning. Browning accepted and played a much better game the next day with the bat Hillerich made. This lead to other players taking interest in the bat, and soon everyone wanted a bat made by John Hillerich leading to the birth of the Louisville Slugger. Not much later in the 1890s, rules were changed, stating that baseball bats must be round and could not be flat at the end either, as they were often sawed off. The diameter of the bat also was increased to 2.75 at this time.
There have been many different materials used to make baseball bats in the 20th Century, but Major League players only are allowed to use wooden bats. The metal bat was patented in 1924 by William Shroyer, but was not used in baseball until the 1970s. Over the decades, materials like graphite, titanium and aluminum would be used to make performance enhancing baseball bats.
A new bat came around in 1991, which made the old ash wood baseball bats nearly obsolete. The Baum baseball bat was created with a resin core, filled with fiber and yarn, which made it lighter, bouncier and improved hitting speed by five percent. It still was composed of ash wood on the outside, but inside was game-changing material.
In 2001, Barry Bonds hit his record of 73 homeruns in a single season with a maple wood bat. This led to a surge of players wanting to hit with maple bats instead of ash.
Baseball bats vary in many ways. Usually sizes and weights are decided by the height of the player. Clearly bats have changed a lot since the dawn of baseball and have not reached the end of their evolution yet.
Sources:
Rea, Timothy. The Baseball Bat: An Historical Look at the Great Offensive Equalizer. 2005. P&O WDIS. 14 December 2006. http://www.authenticsignedsports.com/index.php?tex t=bat
Baseball Bat History. 2005. Baseball Bats Net. 14 December 2006. http://www.baseball-bats.net/baseball-bats/basebal l-bat-history/index.html
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