Wood Bat Info Guide

Since there’s nothing like a good wooden bat, it’s highly unlikely that they will ever go out of style or favor in terms of use by amateurs or pros. Although the main characteristics of the differing woods vary, the main characteristics are hardness, durability, flexibility and weight. With the mandatory rule that all PA adult baseball leagues must use wood bats, it’s a good idea to know about what is available in terms of the characteristics of the differing woods and the top manufacturers. The primary woods used for bats today are ash, maple, and birch.

ASH
Most wood bats today are made from Northern White Ash, which is generally harvested in Pennsylvania and Upstate New York. It is graded for quality with straight grain being the most important criteria. While Ash is the lightest and provides some flex (give) it is also less durable than maple. Some of the more prominent manufacturers of ash bats include Louisville Slugger, Easton, DeMarini, Old Hickory Bat Co., D-Bat, Viper, Brett Bros. and a number of others.

MAPLE
Maple is hardest of the three, but also the least flexible and the heaviest. Rock or Sugar Maplesare the preferred wood types as they are the hardest types of maple. While they may cost more than ash, they tend to last much longer.A few of the major maple bat manufacturers include Marucci, MaxBat, Old Hickory Bat Co., Louisville Slugger, Mizuno and others.

Mizuno’s bats have been designed by master craftsman Isokazu Kubota who has hand-crafted wooden bats for Mizuno for over 40 years and utilizes select woods direct from Japan. Marucci Chase Utley Pro Model Maple Baseball Bats are cut and selected from naturally grown trees in the forests of Pennsylvania. The company chooses only the highest possible grade of wood for each bat.

A Recent entry into the elite Wood bat manufacturer rolls is DS Wood, which has seen a number of their MLB certified bats in the hands of major leaguers. The company features high quality maple and ash bats that can be custom made in a variety of lengths, weights as well as knob styles, stain colors and cupping options with or without personalized engraving.

BIRCH
Yellow birch is a desirable wood for bats as it is tougher than ash and more flexible and lighter than maple. Hitters that are hooked on big barrel bats love them for their balance and feel. Most of the best yellow birch, which is generally straight grained with uniform texture, comes from the Eastern U.S. in and around Northern and Lake States.

Viper, Brett Bros., Birch Bats and Diablo all make birch bats for youth and adult players. They vary in barrel size and length to accommodate different style and age of players. Some like the WULF Bat from Brett Bros. have a Bamboo core that runs through the length of the bat surrounded by a very hard birch.Louisville Slugger has released its newest addition to the MLB Prime Series with three new Birch models for 2014.

BAMBOO
Bamboo is a desirable wood for bats due to its extreme lightness, durability (actually harder than maple) and environmental friendliness.Because bamboo bats are not made from a single piece of wood, they are not MLB approved. Mizuno, BamBooBat,and Brett Bros. are just three prominent manufacturers of bamboo bats and all have different takes on compositional blends for strength lightness, durability and flexibility.

The Brett Bros. Mb-110 Maple Bamboo Wood Bat utilizes a three-piece laminating system for barrel sturdiness and durability. The core is made of bamboo, and then is wrapped in maple laminates for a sturdy outside shell. The company introduced their patented Boa fiberglass reinforcement into the handle to prevent cracking.

Mizuno blends bamboo and glass fiber to attain superior durability in its Mizuno Bamboo Elite Series. BamBooBat Energize Line utilizes a patented fused bamboo fiber handle and bamboo and wood laminated barrel that is intended to provide similar durability to expensive metal or composite bats.

Wood bats come in a very wide variety of flavors in terms of wood types and composite blends (a category that deserves its own blog post). They also come from a wide number of manufacturers and manufacturing processes.

Most proponents of playing the game feel that it is best to learn the fundamentals on a wood bat. Even today, many scouts and teams prefer to see what a player can do with a wood bat as the best way to evaluate their skill.

Although any wooden bat can still crack, today’s wood choice and manufacturing techniques, which range from machine to hand crafted, are capable of producing fantastic bats that can last a very long time. There is nothing that can replace the unique feel of a wooden bat. Fortunately, today’s bats can provide the necessary attributes for any hitter to use their skill to its maximum.