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I was wondering why so many players went to two tone maple bats with natural handles during 2009, but it seems as though it is now mandated by MLB:
*All bats must conform to slope of grain wood requirements. Slope of grain is a term that quantifies how straight the grain is on the wood.
*All manufacturers must place an ink dot on the tangential face of the sugar maple and yellow birch bats before finishing. This enables the slope of grain to be viewed easily.
*The orientation of the hitting surface on sugar maple and maple bats should be rotated 90 degrees. To facilitate the change, all manufacturers must rotate the logo they placed on bats by 90 degrees.
*The handles of sugar maple and yellow birch bats must be natural or clear to allow for the inspection of the slope of grain in the handle.
*Manufacturers must track each bat they supply.
*Officials from each manufacturer must participate in an M.L.B.-sponsored workshop on engineering properties and grading practices of wood.
*M.L.B. will visit manufacturers regularly to audit each company’s manufacturing processes.
*Random audits of bats will be conducted by M.L.B. at ballparks.
*A third-party bat certification and quality control program should be established to certify new suppliers, approve new species of wood, provide training and education to manufacturers and address non-compliance issues.
This should be useful in identifying maple game bats from BP bats as only maple bats with natural handles can be used in game action.
*All bats must conform to slope of grain wood requirements. Slope of grain is a term that quantifies how straight the grain is on the wood.
*All manufacturers must place an ink dot on the tangential face of the sugar maple and yellow birch bats before finishing. This enables the slope of grain to be viewed easily.
*The orientation of the hitting surface on sugar maple and maple bats should be rotated 90 degrees. To facilitate the change, all manufacturers must rotate the logo they placed on bats by 90 degrees.
*The handles of sugar maple and yellow birch bats must be natural or clear to allow for the inspection of the slope of grain in the handle.
*Manufacturers must track each bat they supply.
*Officials from each manufacturer must participate in an M.L.B.-sponsored workshop on engineering properties and grading practices of wood.
*M.L.B. will visit manufacturers regularly to audit each company’s manufacturing processes.
*Random audits of bats will be conducted by M.L.B. at ballparks.
*A third-party bat certification and quality control program should be established to certify new suppliers, approve new species of wood, provide training and education to manufacturers and address non-compliance issues.
This should be useful in identifying maple game bats from BP bats as only maple bats with natural handles can be used in game action.
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