Quality of wood on a bat?

[brianborsch]

Hello all,

I have heard many things about how high quality then wood on a bat is and how you can tell if it is good wood.
One thing I heard is the less rings it has the better/stronger. Is this true? From what I understand, the more rings wood has, the older the tree is and for most woods that wood would be stronger.

So how can we tell???

[bubbrubb25]

I herd the closer the grain is to each other the better the wood.

[metsbats]

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-102696997.html

Here's a link to information on bat quality and what players think what makes a good piece of lumber.

Enjoy!

David

[brianborsch]

So which is it? One guy says the more grain the better, and then that website said Tony Gwynn says the lesser the better. Who says or where does it say or conclude scientifically which is better/stronger wood?

[Nathan]

Where a baseball goes and at what velocity comes down to two main things.
1) Wood density at point of contact
2) Bat speed at point of contact

Of course, this means that a corked bat is actually a liability. Although it may improve the bat speed marginally, it decreases the density.

As for what makes "good wood", it comes down to an individual player's preference. A slugger is more likely to prefer a more dense bat (i.e. maple, or else tightly grained ash), and a slap hitter is more likely to prefer a less dense one. I remember David Eckstein complaining in the 2002 World Series that the special World Series bats were more dense; what would ordinarily be a Texas Leaguer for a single was carrying farther for a flyout.

[metsbats]

I'd believe Tony Gwynn just because he's in the HOF and has 3,000 + hits and the other guys does not.

Scientifically, the article says the grain lines are straight and evenly spaced on top-of-the-line wood but does not mention number. Is wide grain which yields softer wood better than thin grain harder but brittle? Does wider grain lead to less number or does thinner grain lead to more number of grains?

In September 1985 when Gary Carter hit 5 homers in 2 games to tie a major league record he ran into a shortage of bats. Here's a blurb from an article in the NY news regarding this.

Los Angeles --- After hitting five homers in the past two games and eight in the six games on the Mets' current West coast swing, Gary Carter has only one complaint. He's running out of bats.

"I'm down to two bats and awaiting a shipment of couple more at Dodger Stadium," Carter said yesterday, a day after hitting two homers in a 9-2 win that enabled the Mets to sweep the series with the Padres. "I started on this trip with seven or eight, and I'm down to two gamers"

"Carter said he did have a few other bats in the rack but not the kind he prefers to use in a game.

"I like the kind with the big grain... where you can count the grain lines" he said. "But there's been a shortage of good wood this year, and those kind are hard to come by."

I have the bat he used to hit the 5 homers in 2 games and the bat has wide grains and 20 of them on the barrel.

So what worked for Gary Carter 20 + grains in a game was regulated to BP for Tony Gwynn.

David

[Nnunnari]

The less grains the better. The ball flies off a bat w/ less grains, try swinging the two and you can feel the difference. Next time you're in your local sporting good shop take a look at their wood bats and notice how few bats have less than 12-14 grains if any, this is because these bats are in higher demand for the pro players and that quality of wood is hard to come by. I have a Gwynn gamer with 9 grains, its a very nice piece of lumber.

[10thMan]

Just when I thought I had "use Chacteristics" down, Time to visit my Storage Facility & count some Grain. The Article about the Bats is Awesome.
My g/f has a friend that works for Louisville Slugger, he does participate in the Manufacturing process, somehow. Maybe i`ll take advantage of the next social occasion & hang with the L.S. guy!!!
Say what you want about A-Rod, the guys smart enought to show up & "schmooze" with the Bat Company!!!


Sean

[MSpecht]

The funny thing here is that, when looking through the factory records, even the greatest hitters in baseball history had different opinions ---

Many specified Wide Grained wood including Roberto Clemente "widest grain always," Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. Others specified Narrow Grained wood such as Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. Some players requested Lots of Knots, No Knots, and other specifications at various times in their careers. A random, non-scientific search shows that, of the players who specified specific grain, more specified Wide Grain than Narrow grain.

Mike Jackitout7@aol.com

[10thMan]

Mike, when discussing "Grain count" are people counting the Grain on the Knob, the Barrel (end) or what??? Not assuming anything here.
What does one mean when they say "15 count"???
I`ve noticed a difference in the Grain count on some Bats I have. Same Player, Same Model, same end...Thanks in advance,
Sean