The History of the Baseball Bat

Drew Smithhttp://www.timetoast.com/timelines/innovation-of-the-baseball-bat

The first baseball bat was used on March 1, 1857. It was merely a piece of wood from the forest that was used to hit a ball. At that point in time, baseball wasn’t really a sport, rather a mix of Cricket and a game called Rounders.

On March 1st, 1884, a baseball player on a Louisville baseball team broke his favorite bat. He and a woodworker crafted a new bat, giving way to the creation of the very popular Louisville Slugger baseball bat company.

Louisville Slugger is one of

the most famous brands

in baseball!

In 1890, baseball was increasing in popularity. The baseball rules committee decided to place restrictions on baseball bats to keep hitting consistent.

“The bats must be rounded at the end, and they can only have a

diameter of 2.75 inches.”

In 1924, William Shroyer invented and patented the aluminum baseball bat. Up until then, all baseball bats had been made out of wood. The aluminum

baseball bat wouldn’t be a part of baseball until later.

In the early 1950’s, MLB players began using pine tar on the handle of their bats. It gave players a better grip on the bat. To avoid discoloration of the

bats, the MLB ruled in 1955 that the tar could only go 18 inches up the bat.

George Brett was caught

with too much tar on his bat in

1983.

The titanium baseball bat was first created in in 1993. The first two companies to release the bat were Easton Sports and Wilson Sports.

In 1999, Easton sports created the first ever two piece baseball bat. The two piece design enabled hitters to get their hands through the zone faster than

anyone that wasn’t using this type of bat.

This is the best bat around!

A player by the name of Barry Bonds had an incredible 2001 season. He mashed 73 homeruns and batted in 137 RBIs with an impressive .328 batting

average. It was discovered that Bonds was using a bat made from maple wood instead of the usual white ash baseball bats. Maple became the wood

that players wanted.

That wasn’t my only secret! I used illegal steroids to give me

power!

In 2011, the NCAA changed their bat regulations. BESR bats were removed from college baseball and were replaced by BBCOR bats. Scientists and

experts concluded that the BESR bats were too powerful. The were a safety hazard for pitchers. BBCOR bats had less power, so they were safer.