Dynamics & Characteristics of Baseball Bats

The game of baseball has come a long way from the Abner Doubleday era and the quaint National Pastime of using a wooden stick to hit a round object. Baseball bats in the modern era have different characteristics and properties. This is especially true when bats are broken down into aluminum and wood categories.

  1. Sounds

    • The most obvious difference is the sound you hear when a bat hits a ball. If the bat is wood, a rich-sounding crack resonates from home plate. The louder the crack, the chances are the longer you've hit the ball. Many a home run starts with a loud crack of the bat. If the bat is aluminum, the crack is replaced with a sharp-sounding "ping." A softer "ping" suggests less contact.

    Weight

    • Aluminum bats can weigh more or less, depending on the bat you wish to use. With wooden bats, the type of wood used in the production will have a bearing on how the bat responds. Hickory-style bats, often made and used by older generations, are heavier and may result in balls traveling shorter distances when contact is made. Ash-style bats are lighter and result in more action if a batter connects.

    Vibration

    • An extension of sound vibration is what occurs following the crack of wood or the "ping" of aluminum. There are different bending modes in a wooden bat when sound carries through it, but these sound waves are often muted when a person holds the bat, thereby preventing the sound from carrying. Aluminum bats vibrate in "hoop mode," which is at a higher frequency than bending modes are. That means a "ping" sound can resonate through the ears much sharper than a crack.

    Sweet Spot

    • The area between the red stitching on a baseball is known as the sweet spot, because that is where a signature is best displayed. Sweet spots on bats have nothing to do with signatures. The sweet spot is the place on a bat where speed and vibration come together to produce the best result. The sweet spot is also referred to as the center of percussion, determined by pivoting the bat at a spot 6 inches from the knob and clocking how long it takes to go through one swing cycle.