Expert: John Priest - 2/11/2009

Question
I'm doing a rearsh paper on how to make aluminum baseball bats. I need to know if different brands of bats are made alike or different. Another thing is if compact bats and compozite bats are made alike or different.
 Thanks, Jacob

Answer
Jacob,
Yes, bats from different companies are made different.  Metal bats vary from company to company and model to model.  Most bats that compare at the same level are composed of the same materials.  They differ in what their "technology is".  Some bats are two piece and some are one piece.  I don't know what you mean by a compact bat.  Composite bats can be made of many different materials.  To help with you project you should go to Louisville Slugger (http://www.slugger.com/) and Rawlings (http://www.rawlings.com/) websites and you will be able to see the descriptions of each bat and what and how they are made.  A company that has a great site for composite bats and their research is Baum bats (http://baumbat.com/), they also make the best composite bat I have ever used.  Not sure if you want to go in this direction but a great resource for you is to check out the Baseball Research Center at UMASS Lowell.  Any bat that you have used most likely has been tested and approved for use at this facility.  Their web site is:   http://m-5.uml.edu/umlbrc/  
Good Luck with the paper let me know if I can help with anything else.
Thank You,
John Priest