Baseball bats originally were made of any wood, but soon moved toward white ash, hickory and other hardwoods. Modern baseball bats are mostly made from white ash, which is an extremely hard and durable wood. Maple bats became popular after 2001, when Barry Bonds hit an incredible 73 home runs using a maple bat. Bamboo bats are the latest types of bats to gain popularity because of the strength of the wood.
First Bats
The first bamboo baseball bats started appearing about 2003. Bamboo bats became a viable option when modern wood bats started splintering regularly and aluminum bats became controversial. School districts and cities have considered prohibiting metal bats, and New York City has already banned their use. This opened the field for other types of wood bats, such as bamboo bats, to fill the void.
League Acceptance
Bamboo chutes are hollow and therefore cannot be made into a bat that is one solid piece of bamboo. Bamboo bats are made by placing strips of bamboo together, pressing them into billets and then making the bat from the billets. Major League Baseball requires that all bats used in games be made from one solid piece of wood. This is why the MLB does not allow bamboo bats. Many other baseball leagues do not allow the use of bamboo bats, but they are approved for high schools, college, Class A minor leagues, youth and amateur teams. Bamboo bats are used as batting-practice bats and gaining use in baseball training.
Benefits
Bat companies started manufacturing bamboo baseball bats because they are a green choice in material and cost effective. Bamboo is a fast-growing renewable resource. It takes bamboo five years to grow to maturity, in comparison with ash or maple, which can take up to 40 years to mature. Bamboo is very strong and durable. It has a tensile strength of 28,000 lbs. per square inch compared with 23,000 for steel.
Future
As of 2011, bamboo bats represent only a small fraction of the baseball bat market, but the trend for lighter and stronger wood bats is helping bamboo gain wider use in youth baseball leagues, according to an article published on April 2, 2007, by ABC News.
References
- Baseball-Bats.net: Baseball Bat Materials
- JustBats.com: Review The BamBoo Bat Bamboo Wood Bat
- Free Patents Online: Bamboo Bat Having Fiber-Fused Core and Method of Manufacturing the Same
- JustBats.com: BamBoo Bat
- ABC News: Metal vs. Wood: Baseball Bat Battle Brews
- New York Times: As Laws Change, So Does the Baseball Bat
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