Bat Design Technology

The most important mechanical properties of a baseball bat are:  mass, center of gravity, moment of inertia, coefficient of restitution, vibrational properties, stiffness, strength, center of percussion, and maximum power point location.  These properties can be engineered through numerous bat designs using various fiber and resin combinations, fiber orientations, and other factors [more].

During the extremely short swing phase, the most important bat performance characteristics are: maximum bat velocity, positional control, and longitudinal bending.  These characteristics are controlled by mass, center of gravity, moment of inertia and longitudinal stiffness.

The contact phase consists of a violent, even more extremely short duration, collision involving surprisingly high impact forces, which generate multi vibrational longitudinal and hoop vibrational frequencies.  During the collision phase, the most important bat characteristics are: barrel trampoline effect which determines bat performance (hit distance), durability, sweetspot size, sound, feel and sting.  These characteristics are controlled by coefficient of restitution, vibrational properties, stiffness, strength, center of percussion, and maximum power point location [more]

 In summary, designing an optimal baseball bat is a very challenging technical task, which is far from fully understood, and much less accomplished, in the industry.  Further, wood and aluminum material characteristics severely limit, in fact make impossible, designing the optimal bat. Without doubt, composite bats in all segments will be the "Bats of the Future¨.