BASEBALL BATS HISTORY
The history of the baseball bat is strongly linked, as it’s only natural, with that of baseball itself. Baseball was first recorded as a sport sometime around the 1750es, in Great Britain, even though records of similar sports have been found in other countries as well. Throughout the evolution of baseball, the bats used in the game have changed and evolved, in shape, size and materials, until they reached the standardized models that are in use today.
At the beginnings of baseball as an established sport, there were no restrictions as to the size of the bats, either length wise or width wise, but as things went on, a necessity for the introduction of limits in regards to bat measurements became apparent. As such, in 1859, a rule establishing that baseball bats could not have a diameter surpassing 2.5 inches was emitted. Ten years later, the maximum length of a baseball bat was also regularized at 42 inches, a rule that survived to this day.
One of the most iconic baseball bat brands, the Louisville Slugger was born not long after the regulations that shaped baseball were issued. In 1884, the young John Hillerich, observing the dismay of one of his favorite players, Pete Browning, after he had broken his bat during the game, offered to build him a new one in his family’s wood workshop. The two proceeded in creating the new white ash bat after the measurements of the previous one. The new bat had amazing success, propelled the Hillerich family into the baseball bat making business and opened a new age for baseball.
The year 1890 came with a change in the regulations, by allowing the maximum diameter of the bats to change from 2.5 to 2.75 inches and by making the tip of the bats rounded, instead of the flat tip that had widely been used before. With the instatement of these new rules, the look of the baseball bat was cemented and bats over 100 years later still abide by the same measuring and shape criteria, except for the handle, which has grown increasingly thinner over time, compared to the ones used back then. One of the things that have continued to change over time is the material baseball bats have been built from, as new materials have kept being tested and patented for the making of baseball bats. One such material was aluminum.
Aluminum bats are widely popular these days, and are used by pros and amateurs alike, though major baseball competitions still won’t allow their use for reasons of safety and fairness. Despite being patented in 1924, aluminum bats have only gained popularity in the 70es. Different alloys of aluminum and titanium baseball bats have since then been offered by various manufacturers.
The type of wood baseball bats are made of has also been under scrutiny of late. The introduction by certain professional players of maple bats in the past 10 years has stirred a debate as to the qualities wood used for bats has to have. While the traditionally used ash tends to break, the harder maple tends to shatter, which to some represents an issue.
There you have it, the history of the baseball bat in a nutshell.
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