How to Choose the Wood Baseball Bat that Fits Your Hitting Style

What kind of hitter do you want to be? You can take a big step toward that goal by starting with the right piece of lumber in your hands. Whether you want to be someone who drives the ball into the power allies, a contact junkie knocking it all around the park, a softball slugger or a big league bopper, it starts with the right wood bat. It’s all a matter of options.  Wood bats not only provide the purest form of baseball and the only baseball bat allowed in the big leagues but they give you more options than any piece of aluminum or graphite on the planet. The right wood bat can be the tool that takes your plate production to the next level.

Let’s start with the type of wood. This feature has been linked to the hot topic of an increasing number of broken bats in all kinds of wooden bat leagues. Some experts have linked this issue to a player selecting the bat material that fits his or her hitting style. If you are looking for more pop, any Phoenix model made out of Rock Maple is the way to go. Phoenix White Ash bats provide a huge sweet spot for all you spray hitters out there. We have also seen the future of this industry and started making all-wood composite bats that offer power, strength and longevity.

The most important option is the balance of the bat, finding the perfect proportion of length to weight. This feature is where broken bats may come from. A player must truly know what he or she is looking for when it comes to shape and size, in order to keep cracking the sweet spot and not the barrel.

The industry standard wood bats typically weigh between 2 to 4 ounces less than the number of inches the bat is long. The -3 ratio (30”-27ozs.), for example, is standard on most Phoenix Bats. However, the height, weight and strength of the hitter plays the biggest factor in balance. Finding the right ratio can be done with one afternoon at the batting cages. If you need more bat speed you may have to move closer to the plate, sacrificing length and barrel width. The opposite goes for stronger hitters that need more range at the plate. No matter what your comfortable ratio may be, Phoenix also produces custom bats perfect for your power or contact swing.

Comfort is the key and one should not select a bat without swinging it at some live pitching, which is why you should take the Phoenix Challenge. You can try any bat we make and return it within 10 days if you are not completely satisfied. Find the right fit and start driving in runs.

Check out our helpful bat selection guide here.  Whether you are a baseball, softball, youth or vintage baseball player, this guide will help you find the perfect wood bat to elevate your game.

In Defense of Maple Bats: A Letter to Wilbon & Kornheiser @ ESPN

Dear Mr Wilbon & Mr Kornheiser,

I am GM of Phoenix Bats, a pro approved wood baseball bat manufacturer since 2000. As part of our business, we provide maple and ash bats to numerous major and minor league players and teams. The majority of our players choose maple.

We believe the uptick in maple bat breakage, if statistically significant, is primarily attributed to the fact that some players are requesting bigger barrels and thinner handles. This is a simple equation that does not work. The redistribution of weight to the barrel is putting significant additional stress on the handle, creating a much greater chance for breakage.

Major League Baseball addressed part, but not all, of this issue. They only put a minimum handle dimension requirement on the books (still too small) and then grandfathered in models that were in use. They also have manufacturers placing the engraving and logo on the opposite side of where it had been for years. If players truly changed and are hitting on the grains recommended (unlikely as they know where the strongest part of the bat is), bats will break more often, just not with as much intensity as they would be hitting on the weaker area of the bat.

Secondarily, we believe that some wood being accepted by certain manufacturers is having an impact. We’ve seen some wood for players that we shake our head at, the most glaring being a bat for one of the most recognized Boston players. The unseen issue comes from wood that’s too dry or dries too fast. That will also lead to bat breakage much faster. We suspect one method of drying is causing the wood to dry too quickly, impacting the cellular structure of the bat. MLB did work to address wood quality with manufacturers, but did not address the moisture content.

While there is nothing inherently unsafe about maple bats (in use for many years now), the safety problem should be solved by regulating the handle/barrel dimensions. Addressing wood quality issues is more difficult than bat dimensions/specifications. Thus, we recommend addressing dimensions first and then wood quality if desired results are not obtained.

A maple ban will force manufacturers to come up with other acceptable woods, which will likely exhibit similar characteristics due to specifications being requested. At best, these other bats will still break as often, increasing the cost of team operations, while minimally impacting safety.

With a ban, demand for ash bats will increase, regardless of other woods available. Unfortunately, the Emerald Ash borer, a presently unstoppable bug, is destroying ash trees at an alarming pace. The wood expert we work with, who brokers for the largest wood supplier in the nation, expects ash to disappear at some point within the next 5-10 years, without the impact of a maple ban take in to account.

We feel MLB has taken some positive steps, and with some additional tweaks/changes can insure that maple remains a viable wood that’s used by the majority of major league players. Of note, besides the Elijah Dukes bat incident, the most noticeable broken bat incident that occurred so far this year was when an umpire was struck by a broken bat—an ash bat.

I appreciate you taking the time to read our take. Hopefully the info above can continue to contribute to the debate and people’s understanding of the issue.

Respectfully,

Seth Cramer

General Manager
Phoenix Bat Company

A Behind the Scenes Look at the Making of a Wood Baseball Bat by Phoenix Bats

For the last 10 years, we’ve been scoring big with amateurs and professionals alike with the production of our premium wood bats. From a garage, making old-fashioned bats for vintage baseball teams, we have grown into a leading custom wood bat manufacturer, literally “turning out” the market’s highest quality bats from our special Italian lathe. We’ve perfected the process and are excited to give you a sneak peek into the complete journey of a Phoenix bat.

Making the country’s best wood bats doesn’t start at the lathe, but in the dense forests of Pennsylvania and upstate New York, where ash trees are prized for their strength. A minimum of sixty years of growth are required to bring an ash tree to the preferred trunk diameter of ~36 inches, and each tree yields approximately 60 bats.

Step 1: Inspect and Sort

As soon as the premium woods arrive at our shop, they are hand inspected and sorted and every piece is weighed to establish its quality. In these beginning stages, we also measure the straightness of the grain from end to end, all of which determines what wood will be used for our vintage, youth, adult, game or trophy bats.

Step 2: Cut and Sand

After the initial grading process, the unformed wood goes into the second stage of production. Our precision Italian lathe, called a Locatelli lathe, is the most advanced model in the bat industry and we’re the only manufacturer in the world to have it. Our lathe cuts the raw wood into a bat with exact dimensions and not only does it perform with amazing precision, it automatically sands as well, providing a one-of-a-kind feature. At Phoenix Bats, we use this sophisticated piece of machinery on every single bat that leaves our shop.

Once our bats come off the lathe, we remove the ends and, if needed, the bat is cupped. Not every bat is cupped, just those that need a little weight taken off. Because professional bats need to meet certain weight requirements, we scoop out a portion of the bat’s top. Our cup is narrower than most manufacturers, providing better stability to the wall surrounding the cup.

Step 3: Finishing Touches

After a bat is formed and meets with our stringent specifications, the finishing process begins. Bat handles are submerged into the finishing compound, which determines its color and the process is repeated with the bat’s barrel. Next, it’s coated with a clear sealant and finishing touches are added including a ring around the middle to hide the color transition between the handle and barrel. Then it’s time to add our decal and personalized player engraving.

The next Phoenix bat is now out the door and, of course, we hope to see it on baseball diamonds everywhere. The real secret in making wood bats with the best feel and largest sweet spot is our love of the game and our attention to detail from start to finish.

Turning raw wood into great game bats makes all of us at Phoenix Bats feel like we are part of baseball’s rich history and exciting future. Manufacturing quality bats, doing what you love and giving players better tools to raise their game is truly the best possible gig.

Interested in booking a tour to see how a bat is made from start to finish? Tours are conducted by appointment and are $10 per person. This includes a custom engraved mini bat to commemorate your visit. To schedule a tour please contact tours@phoenixbats.com or call 877.598.2287 (614.873.7776 in the Columbus area).