Hardwood Trees Used for Baseball Bats
While wooden bats are no longer used in high school or college baseball, they are still the bat of choice in Major League Baseball and the minor professional leagues. Recreational baseball players are also rediscovering the great feel of a quality wooden bat. Barry Bonds' well-publicized use of a maple bat during his record-setting career has led to a boom in the popularity of maple bats in particular.
Other People Are Reading
-
Ash
-
Wood baseball bats are most often made out of ash trees from New York or Pennsylvania. There are different quality levels of ash wood, graded based on its density. Major League Baseball generally gets the best quality ash, with the minor leagues getting a lesser grade of wood.
Maple
-
Rock or sugar maple trees are also used to make bats for Major League Baseball. Maple bats do not flake or split as much as ash bats, but they are often more expensive. Over the long run, maple bats are usually still more economical because they last so much longer than ash bats.
-
Hickory
-
Hickory is the hardest type of wood used for baseball bats, but it weighs too much to be popular with most players. New improvements in the kiln-drying process might make hickory a more viable option by removing moisture and making the bat lighter.
Bamboo
-
Bamboo bats can handle off-center hits without splintering and breaking like other woods. Because it does not flake as easily as other bats, a bamboo bat can be used for batting practice without being taped.
Considerations
-
To protect a wood baseball bat, store it indoors and out of extreme heat, cold or humidity. The back of a cool, dry closet is often the best place to store a hardwood bat.
-
