For additional information on caring for your bats visit our Wood Bats 101 page By DAVID WALDSTEIN MINNEAPOLIS — During a game for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan in 1999, Ichiro Suzuki struck out and returned to the dugout unusually frustrated. In a fit of anger, he destroyed his black Mizuno bat. Embarrassed, Suzuki wrote a letter of apology [...]
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One thing that most people outside of the bat making industry do not seem to realize is that not all maple billets are created the same. Most hitters these days want a big barrel on their bat in lenghts that often exceed 34 inches. World Bats has found that there are precious few maple billets that are high enough quality to produce a solid bat with a big barrel in these lengths.
To know what is ideal for you need to know what type of hitter you are. Size, strength, and level of competition are all integral pieces of this puzzle. Not only is the type of hitter important, but especially for younger players, the player’s size and strength must be taken into account. Youngsters who haven’t fully matured should not pick a bat that they can grow in to. There is no sense in choosing a bat that you hope to grow in to in the next year. You need to swing a bat that fits your size today. While it’s true that using a heavier bat will build strength, it is also true that a heavy bat will cause bad habits to form. The rule of thumb when trying to determine whether you’re strong enough for a bat is to extend your arm and have a friend hand you the bat, with the knob towards you. If you can’t grab the bat without the barrel dipping several inches towards the floor the bat is probably too heavy for you.
There is a silent, yet very real threat which, left unchecked, could pose a significant threat to the very oldest material used for making baseball bats.
