Baseball Bat Production

1. Baseball Bat Production By: Zach Staszak

2. Origins • Started from the early 19th century with invention of baseball • In 1884 beginning of the most famous name in baseball bats today • Hickory was the original, until about 2001 with Barry Bonds

3. Hickory • First type of wood used in baseball • Wood was stronger than usual, but the problem was that it was very heavy • Babe Ruth, one of the all-time great home-run hitters, used a 42- or a 44-ounce Hickory bat

4. White Ash • Louisville Slugger • The wood is specially selected from forests in Pennsylvania and New York • The trees they use must be at least fifty years old before they are harvested • After harvest, the wood is dried for six to eight months to a precise moisture level. The best quality wood is selected for pro bats; the other 90 percent is used for consumer market bats. According to Bradley, white ash is used for its combination of hardness, strength, weight, "feel," and durability.

5. Maple • Maple bats cost more than white ash, but they often last longer as a result of their high strength • Barry Bond's amazing 73 home runs hit using maple bats in 2001 • Recent technology in drying wood has created bats with lower moisture content, which are light enough to make effective baseball bats • Maple wood is endowed with a tight grain that offers many of the qualities suited for smacking a baseball. The finer the grade of maple, the more expensive the bat

6. Bamboo • Bamboo came onto the scene in the 2000s, with the first bamboo bats produced by a company called BamBooBats • Constructed by pressing strips of bamboo together • Can take a lot of mishits without breaking • Major League Baseball does not allow the use of bamboo bats because they are considered composite, not wooden

7. Problem • Since they are wood, the will break • There are a few weaknesses on the bat • 260 bats this year in MLB

9. Process • It is different for Bamboo • Lumberjacks are paid to take down trees for many products including Baseball bats! • When trees are cut down the limbs and other scraps are what the bats are actually made out of • Branches and limbs are trimmed down and shaped into long cylinder pieces of wood. After they then placed into what they call a lathe, which you can buy at tool and hardware stores, and the machine and turned on and shaped to specific needs of whoever the bat is produced for. • At the end, it starts to just spin and you would take a low grade cloth and hold the it on the bat to sand and make the bat more smooth to the touch.

10. Process (Cont.) • When it is done, the bat is moved to the painting area for it to be colored, customized, finished • People can get their name, number, or basically anything on the bat • Depending on the company, they will usually print their name on the bat or even put the sticker on

11. Fun facts • About 40,000 trees per season • best white ash comes from parts of Pennsylvania, New York, and several other northeastern states where the terrain, soil, and climate are most favorable to its growth • In our history we have used Northern White Ash, Hickory, Oak, and Maple. However, today approximately 52% of our professional bars are made from Maple and 48% are Ash (Louisville Slugger) • • Edd Roush of the Cincinnati Reds used the heaviest bat, a 48 ounce piece of timber • Six million (most ever)

12. Local Companies • BWP • Chandler Bat Company

13. The End