What Kind of Wood Are Baseball Bats Made Of?

Baseball, the all-American sport created by Alexander Cartwright, dates to the 1800s. Until 1858, when the first major league formed, however, baseball was only for informal and local-team play. Up until then, players created their own bats, some of them flat, others round. The first time a team received pay, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, occurred in 1869. Eventually, as the sport grew in popularity, the rules also changed. By the time baseball reached maturity, rules regarding the composition and design of the baseball bat were determined.

Baseball bats came in all sizes and shapes before they were standardized. Once the players realized round bats worked best, there came a ruling to narrow the width of the bat. In an effort to standardize the equipment, the league made a ruling in 1859 that the bat could be no wider than 2 1/2 inches. Most of the first bats were made of hickory.

In 1869, it was ruled that a bat could be 42 inches long at most. Some of the players still used odd-shaped bats with flat sides for bunting. The ends of bats were often flat and sawed off, but in the 1890s the rule changed to rounded ends and the diameter was increased to 2 3/4 inches. Few changes have come to the wooden bat since then, except for thinner handles and lighter weight.

By the 1970s, aluminum bats became popular. Even though these bats were originally patented in 1924, they weren't popular until a stronger type of aluminum was created. The major leagues never allowed aluminum bats in the game, even though great improvements to the bats continued.

Most of the time, baseball bats were made of either metal or white ash. This was true until one man made a huge difference. Record-breaking batter Barry Bonds did not use the traditional white ash or bamboo bat but used one made of maple. This fact increased the popularity of the maple wood bat.

Players found that cupping the end of the bat gave added control with the center of gravity toward the trademark and made the bat lighter. Once the cupping started, the major leagues had to react to it by creating a rule. The major leagues allow cupping as long as it's not deeper than 1 inch, wider than 2 inches in diameter or less than 1 inch in diameter. It also cannot contain any foreign substance and must be curved.

There are newer bats that have a two-walled technology. There's an inside wall, normally made of graphite or composite material, a layer of rubber or thick fluid and an outside wall of aluminum. Some players still apply pine tar to the outside of their bats, even though it can't go up the bat more than 18 inches.