ROCKBATS - Discussions regarding Wood Baseball Bats

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Comment by Roland Hernandez on December 9, 2009 at 1:43pm

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LET'S DISCUSS WOOD BAT SHAPES
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I've done quite a bit of work on bat shape analysis, relating to performance and durability. Basically, when you test a bat in a machine - you can tell alot about how one bat shape might outperform another... or how one bat shape might be more prone to breaking, compared to another.

However, something that I want to study more is...

BAT SHAPE ANALYSIS ON HOW IT AFFECTS THE PLAYER'S SWING

All things being equal in a test machine (bat velocity, ball velocity)... big-barrel bats will outperform smaller-barrel bats. However, when swung by a human... players cannot swing a big-barrel bat as fast as a smaller-barrel bat....

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FACT: Bat Speed is the #1 most influential factor that increases Ball Velocity.
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So, a player may actually find that they get lower performance with a big-barrel bat.

I like to tell players that it's not JUST about how fast the bat is swinging thru the strike zone (bat velocity), it's ALSO about how fast you can accelerate your bat from the ready position - to the strike zone.

If you are using a bat that is too large, then you won't accelerate fast enough... and you'll be behind on those fastballs.

<< btw: the measurable bat property that is used to define "big-barrel", "small-barrel", etc. is moment of inertia. Studies show that, IN A MACHINE, higher moment of inertia increases ball velocity... but studies also show that human players cannot swing a bat as fast with higher moment of inertia, compared to a bat with lower moment of inertia >>

MY QUESTION: Are there any ingenious methods out there to select the proper bat shape?

Most charts and recommendations ONLY refer to length and weight, and "holding the bat out at arms length for 30 seconds", etc.

I'm talking about... fractional tweaks, high-speed video analysis, etc... to make sure you are optimizing your bat velocity and control.
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Comment by Roland Hernandez on December 6, 2009 at 3:19pm

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Each league has it's own rules... however, they often state that they follow "NFHS rules", or "NCAA rules", or even "MLB rules".

Other leagues have to approve the bat (by inspection) before allowing it.

It's safe to say that ALL leagues allow wood bats that are made from a single, solid piece of wood.

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For the NFHS and NCAA... if a bat is made from anything other than a single, solid piece of wood - then they have to be submitted to the Baseball Research Center at UMass-Lowell for testing... BESR, BBCOR, or ABI.

http://m-5.eng.uml.edu/ncaa/

The BESR is the Ball Exit Speed Ratio - this will soon be phased out - and replaced by the BBCOR (Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution). These 2 tests are primarily to assure that a bat does not perform higher than a bat made from a single piece of wood.

The ABI test (Accelerated Break-In)... is intended for those kevlar and carbon-type composite bats... that perform higher with repeated use.
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Other leagues... such as the International Baseball Federation (IBAF.ORG) or the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB) - require a manufacturer to submit a bat for approval... even the solid-wood bats.

Once a manufacturer is on their list of "approved bats", only those manufacturers can supply bats to teams in that league.

RockBats is approved for IBAF (international baseball) and for CEB - European Baseball.
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Then there is Major and Minor League Baseball. Each year, manufacturers have to re-apply to get on the list of approved manufacturers. Only manufacturers on that list can supply bats to Major and Minor League players.

I've never seen this list PUBLICLY advertised... it is the list that is sent to all equipment managers of Major and Minor League teams.

Some professional leagues - like the Independent Professional Baseball Federation follow the MLB rules... which only allows soild-wood bats.

YES, you are correct - many of these leagues don't have an easily accessible list of approved bats - or approved bat suppliers.

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For the leagues I mentioned above, current requirements for using a wood composite bat is to have it approved... by whatever method they require (testing or inspection).
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I believe, that with the shrinking supply of BIG trees to make bats... and with the unknown future of Ash resources due to the Emerald Ash Borer, many of those leagues that currently ONLY allow solid-wood bats will NEED to begin considering some sort of allowance for wood composite bats.

What we at RockBats advocate is that if a league is going to call itself a "wood bat league", they should only allow ALL-WOOD bats.

I hope that this info was useful.
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Comment by Michael Thomas Weber on December 6, 2009 at 2:30pm

I was unsure of what the requirements for leagues higher than high school. I am a IHSAA umpire and the books do not say much concerning the requirements for wood bats. Do you see the composites or a bat like yours more broadly used in the professional leagues? The maple bat has cast many doubts on the use bats other than the traditional ash, though I seen a company that is using some unusual woods, like elm and birch.

Comment by Roland Hernandez on December 4, 2009 at 9:03am

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The only league under MLB that allows wood composite bats is the Rookie Leagues - lower than Class A. However, to get certified to supply composite bats to this league, a bat manufacturer has to submit their bats through a series of tests, which are expensive - to show that the composite bat performs the same as an ordinary stick of Ash.

Not only are these bats tested for ball velocity, but they are then cut-up to view the internal construction - the manufacturer is charged for all of these tests.

By the time a bat manufacturer has gone thru all of this expense, THEN are they allowed to sell to the Rookie Leagues... and in most cases, those are the leagues where 18-20 year old players still have to buy their own bats.

This makes it really difficult for a manufacturer to justify getting a composite bat approved for Rookie League baseball.
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Comment by Michael Thomas Weber on December 4, 2009 at 7:47am

That does cover many leagues, so I am assuming that the MLB allows composites as well.

Comment by Roland Hernandez on December 3, 2009 at 1:42pm

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Good question.

Corked bats are illegal in leagues that allow ONLY solid-wood bats - i.e. bats made with one-piece of wood.

In leagues that allow composites (like those with the plastic handles and wood barrels), this laminated construction is perfectly OK. In fact, we are trying to promote to those "wood bat" leagues that if they are going to call themselves a "wood bat league" - that they should only consider bats that are made with ALL-WOOD.

Our solid-wood bats are approved by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF)... which mostly covers solid-wood bats.

And BOTH our solid-wood RockBats and our laminated-wood RockBats are approved in the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB). We have teams in Europe using this laminated design.

When buying a composite wood bat, it is important to inquire with your league if this bat is allowed. If you are in a league that allows bamboo, and those plastic handle bats... then this laminated design is typically allowed also.

I hope that this info helps.
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Comment by Michael Thomas Weber on December 3, 2009 at 1:31pm

I have a question for you about having basswood in the barrel of the bat. I have seen this idea a couple of times recently, using various woods that are lighter than the regular hardwoods. My concern is that the bats would be considered illegal because it is illegal to "cork" a bat. Does that rule apply to the methods that you use to construct a bat?

Comment by Roland Hernandez on November 21, 2009 at 12:51pm

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Sorry it took so long to reply... I'm been out-of-town, and away from CheckSwing for awhile.
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There was another blog posted awhile back on CheckSwing that asked about Bamboo Bats, and below is what I posted. I mainly commented about BAMBOO (the material). Note that bamboo is a good/great material for use in baseball bats, but just like wood, you have to make sure that you have "good-quality" material.
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The following is what I posted...
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When I was a research engineer for the Forest Service, USDA Forest Products Laboratory - I explored the use of bamboo for use in structural products (beams, joists, etc). A guy from Mexico wanted to use it to make glued-laminated beams out of this. This is a fabulous material - it grows fast, has great strength, and can be machined like wood. It is no surprise that it has been used to make baseball bats - in Asia, they even use this to make scaffolding (workers walk around on this framework 100 ft up in the air!)

You hear a wide variety of reviews on bamboo bats - "they never break", "they have no pop", "they have great pop", "they warp", etc., etc. This is no surprise. That's because the properties of bamboo (the material) vary GREATLY.

The properties that affect baseball bat performance... density, stiffness, strength, hardness... vary greatly in bamboo depending on how old the stem was when it was harvested. Here are just a few tidbits about bamboo to keep in mind. When I list these - I'm talking about the pure material properties (when it is still in the form of a round tube or stem)...

- Bamboo grows like a grass, because it IS a grass.
- bamboo that is cut down after 1 year can be as soft as pine or basswood
- bamboo that is left to grow for 7 to 15 years (approximately) can be as tough as Hickory
- there are also differences between the outer shell and the inner shell
(it can be as soft as basswood in the inner shell, and as tough as Hickory in the outer shell)

- the strength can be as strong as Hickory (or stronger).. DEPENDING ON AGE.
- but the stiffness is only average

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THE HIGH STRENGTH IS WHY BAMBOO BATS HAVE THE REPUTATION OF "NEVER BREAKING"
THE LOW TO AVERAGE STIFFNESS IS WHY BAMBOO BATS HAVE THE REPUTATION OF "HAVING NO POP"
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So, what does this all mean?
- bamboo is a great material for baseball bats.
- however, it has highly variable properties, so that's why you see the whole range of reviews.
- if you run into one bad bamboo bat, you shouldn't dismiss that manufacturer forever
- the best thing to do is to inspect your bat before purchasing (tap it on the ground and listen to the sound)

The story about the warped bat makes sense... my guess is that whoever made that bat blank - glued up several densities of bamboo strips together to try to achieve a target weight of billet. Unfortunately, they glued up the strips in an un-balanced manner. Higher-density bamboo expands faster than lower-density bamboo... so the outside curve of your bat (likely) has the higher-density bamboo.

I often joke with players that come across warped bats - that this is their "OPPOSITE-FIELD HITTING BAT".

I hope that this info helps.

Thanks

Roland Hernandez, Founder
RockBats.COM
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Comment by Anthony Fruhling on November 7, 2009 at 11:09am

I have a question about Bamboo bats. I have a friend that bought a bamboo bat this past summer and after reading your articles here I decided to check his bat for the straightness of grain. On his particular bat you can't even see the grain until you get up on the barrell. I was just wondering if this was natural or how else could I tell?

Comment by Roland Hernandez on October 29, 2009 at 6:15pm

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Short answer: Yep... Yellow Birch is a great wood for baseball bats.

But, just like all other natural materials (maple, ash, bamboo, etc.) - there is variability in the MECHANICAL PROPERTIES... so it's good to know what to look for when picking out your bat.

There is another discussion on CheckSwing relating to Bamboo Bats... and I commented there about the same thing... "variability".

Roland
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