Bats

A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal rod used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches (1067 mm) in length. more...

Home
All Star Game
Anaheim Angels
Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
Autographs-Original
Balls
Bats
Hats
Helmets
Index Cards
Jerseys
Lithographs, Posters &...
Magazines
Other Autographed Items
Photos
Plaques
Plates
Postcards
Programs
Ticket Stubs
Trading Cards
Baltimore Orioles
Baseball & Softball Items
Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Indians
Colorado Rockies
Defunct Teams
Detroit Tigers
Florida Marlins
Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Dodgers
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
Minors
Montreal Expos
Negro Leagues
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics
Other
Other MLB Items
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
Playoffs
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
Seattle Mariners
St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals
World Series

It typically weighs no more than 36 ounces (1 kg). The batter uses the bat two-handed to try to hit a pitched ball fair so that he may become a runner, advance bases, and ultimately score a run or help preceding runners to score.

Terminology

Although a stick to hit a ball with is a somewhat simple concept, yet so fun when applied usefully, the bat is a complex object. It is carved or constructed very carefully to allow for a quick balanced swing, while providing power. The bat is divided into several regions. The "barrel" is the thick part of the bat, where the bat is meant to hit the ball. The part of the barrel best for hitting the ball with, according to construction and swinging style, is often called the "sweet spot". The end of the barrel is not part of the sweet spot, and is simply called the tip or end of the bat. The barrel narrows down, and becomes the "handle". The handle is very thin, so that batters can comfortably set the bat in their fingers. Sometimes, especially on metal bats, the handle is wrapped with a rubber or cloth "grip". Finally, next to the handle is the "knob" of the bat, a wider piece that keeps the bat from sliding out of a batter's hands.

"Lumber" is a sometimes-used slang term for a bat, especially when wielded by a particularly good batter.

Baseball bat regulations

In professional baseball, only wooden bats are permitted, and they are not allowed to be corked—that is, filled with an alien substance such as cork which reduces the weight, and thus increasing bat speed, without greatly reducing hitting power. Recent experiments though have shown that a corked bat reduces the hitting power of a bat. In amateur baseball, both wood and metal alloy bats are generally permitted. Recently there have been increasing numbers of "wooden bat leagues" and the trend back to wood seems to be accelerating on the grounds of safety concerns. Aesthetically, wooden bats are generally agreed to be superior to metal bats, both because of their more traditional appearance and because a ball hit with a wooden bat makes a loud "crack" sound, similar to a stone hitting a wooden fencepost while metal alloy bats have a "ping" sound, similar to the sound of a stone hitting an aluminum fencepost.

Most wooden bats are made from ash. Other natural materials used include maple tree wood, hickory wood, and bamboo. Hickory has fallen into disfavor because it is much heavier than other woods, while maple bats have become more popular recently. This ascent in popularity followed the introduction of the first major league sanctioned maple baseball bat in 1997, by craftsman Sam Holman, founder of Sam Bat.

Read more at Wikipedia.org