The History of Baseball Bats

When you go to a baseball game, you take for granted that everyone will be playing with a certain type of equipment. However, that was not always so. You may not realize that the bat we see used today was not standardized until well into the mid-1800's.

The game developed in the street and in grassy lots and up until the mid-1800's, those playing the baseball would use whatever they thought would do the job of hitting the ball Every conceivable kind and shape of wood was used. Often flat, the plank could be any width or length.

By 1859, people who enjoyed the game, and especially those who recognized its future in the world of sports, realized that some regulation had to happen. There would be no way to fairly score the game if everyone was using a different type of equipment. It was decided that the bat should be two and a half inches in diameter.

However, the length was still up for discussion. That freedom to choose length lasted for a while, but ten years later it was decided that a bat could be no longer than 42 inches. Flatness was still the shape of choice, but by 1890 the powers that be decreed a round configuration, giving the bat a barrel effect.

Given this shape, it was decided that two and three-quarter inches was the correct diameter for the end of the bat. And so the game continued until the twentieth century when metal was introduced.

The first metal considered was titanium, but that was ruled as too dangerous in the 1930's. In 1970, durable and light aluminum was tried successfully, and scandium aluminum is now the most popular material used for bats.

Nowadays, that kind of aluminum might form an outer layer, with some sort of filler like graphite forming an inner layer. Fluid or rubber in between gives the bat a more bouncy feel. Designers are always trying to help widen the "sweet spot" or ideal place where the ball will meet the bat.

A professional's bat used in a tournament is still made of maple, white ash, or bamboo. Wood has not been entirely cast aside. We may think we've hit the pinnacle of baseball bat design, but afficianados are always trying to improve the game and we have no way of knowing what the next evolution will be. We can trust, however, that there will be improvements to make the game more enjoyable to play and to watch.