One of the most significant actions in the game of baseball, bat swing, has fascinated millions of fans in this ball game. Legends were written from swings, such as Keith Hernandez (.344 mark in 1979), Mark Grace (over .303 on average in nine of 16 seasons), and so on. Essential factors to create a perfect swing require correct technique, natural talent, and of course, a fine bat. This article would take you into a closer look into bats chosen by professional MLB players.
Material
In terms of material, most pro players choose wood bats produced from maple, which does not seem strange when you dig in some deeper knowledge in this material. Maple is a very dense, firm wood, mainly use to structure which requires high durability like bowling floor, cabinetry, or some high-end kitchen furniture. The baseball bat is not an exception, its material must have the ability to suffer powerful force continuously (the average ball speed thrown in the MLB is 90.9 mph). Another benefit of maple wood bats, make it to be more frequently used than ash wood bats is its extremely responsive barrel, it provides players the most sensitive feeling as soon as the bat is in contact with the ball. The percentage of players using maple wood bat in the MLB outweighed others with 95%.
Brands
Secondly, we would like to introduce you to which brands are most popular in this major league. Marucci is highly used in MLB with a percentage of 28,83%. Followed by Marucci is one another renowned brand namely Victus, with 18,36% players used. A percentage of 5% lower is accounted for Louisville Slugger (13,67%). Old Hickory, Chandler, and Rawlings have not taken their approach into this league effectively with humble statics, at only 11,33%, 5%, and 10% respectively. Here are the exact numbers extracted from the week of 6/17/2019 (from BatDigest):
- Marucci – 28.83%
- Victus – 18.36%
- Slugger – 13.67%
- Old Hickory – 11.33%
- Sam Bat – 6.44%
- Chandler – 5.47%
- Rawlings – 5.08%
- Tucci – 3.88%
- B45 Bats – 3.13%
Do not change bats too often
Another interesting note is that well-experienced baseball hitters do not change their bats too often. Some of them keep their bats for their entire career (we do not mean the same bat, but the same brand and model). Legends like Derek Jeter and Mike Trout have basically swung explosively by the same bat every time. By contrast, MLB starters change their bat too frequently that the statics on paper outdated as soon as it announced. Moreover, some young players have a tendency of changing their bat in the middle of the game. This feature is usually been taken to making fake stats in many baseball brands. They could use the statement that their bat is used by 60, 70, 80 percent of professional players, while sometimes many products of them are only used one and never be brought into competitions again. Many unwise consumers may be blinded by these figures and made a blunder of buying products with a tremendous number on the price tag.