For many years, logging companies could not successfully make maple billets, which are the round dial blanks that are used to make baseball bats. Of course, maple bats haven’t always been on the scene. In addition to all of this, because maple bats have dense wood grains, they have what many people call a “trophy shine,” so the bats are aesthetically appealing as well as have a second-to-none sturdiness and reliability.
The density and firmness of the bat also tend to make the ball travel farther, which is always a good thing. Maple bats also tend to last forever, except on the occasion when they break, but again, this happens a lot less frequently now than it used to. The shattering of the bat was occasionally causing injuries to the players, which is why the manufacturers of maple bats were working so hard to take care of this problem.
In fact, every maple bat made since 2009 has to meet these requirements or they cannot be sold to the public, so you can feel safe purchasing a maple bat.ĭoes this mean that maple bats are guaranteed never to break or shatter when you hit a ball with it? Of course not, that is always a possibility, but not only is the bat much less likely to break now that it is made differently, it is also much less likely to shatter when it does. These bats are second to none when it comes to quality and reliability.Īgain, maple doesn’t have the “give” that ash does because it is harder and denser than ash, but most players find they get used to it fairly quickly and hardly notice it afterward.īoth maple and ash bats can break if hit hard enough, but the manufacturers of maple bats discovered in a 2008 study that they were breaking because they were being hit on top of their wood grains, as opposed to being hit “with” the grains, which is what happens with an ash bat.īecause of this, the manufacturers change the location of their label and include an ink mark that runs depending on the quality of the wood used to make the bat.Įven though you should still play with the label pointed either up or down at contact, this seems to have taken care of the problem and resulted in less breakage overall. This is why more than 70% of all Major League Baseball players use bats made out of maple wood. Why? Mostly because it has a closed grain structure, which ensures an unmatched strength and durability and a much stiffer feel in your hands. Not just any wood will do because maple makes the greatest sound of all. If you go to a live baseball game, one of the things you likely look forward to is the loud “pop” sound every time the batter hits the ball, and this sound is much louder and more noticeable with a bat made out of wood.
Let’s take a deep look inside each type, looking for advantages and disadvantages of each type and which one is suitable for you. Ash bats are especially advantageous for vintage league players and barrel-end miss-hitters. Ash bats, on the other hand, which are usually the Northern white ash type, have very visible grains and allow batters to swing much faster, which is likely because it is a lighter bat. Maple bats allow for the best inside pitch protection and are easy to engrave because the grain is less visible on the bat. More pros use maple bats, which are typically the rock maple type because it is stronger all the way around and provides the most “pops” that allow for the biggest hits.
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