| The history of baseball bats dates back to 1800s. | | | | lightweight, durable, and much faster than wooden |
| During this period, baseball was in its infancy, and | | | | bats. Although titanium bats were introduced in |
| players made their own bats from wood, without | | | | 1993, they were banned from professional games |
| any specific shape or size; players experimented | | | | because of other dangers. Various types of |
| with long, short, flat, and heavy bats, and they | | | | aluminum baseball bats were introduced during the |
| eventually built a bat with a round barrel. | | | | 1990s. Bats made of scandium aluminum are the |
| In 1859, the first rule was made regarding the | | | | most popular today. |
| size of the baseball bat. The rule prescribed the | | | | A great deal of research was conducted and |
| allowable width of the bat, 2.5 inches in diameter, | | | | many resulting modifications were made by |
| but no length was prescribed. In 1869, another | | | | manufactures to improve the trampoline effect |
| rule was made to restrict the length of the bat to | | | | of the bat and to increase the size of the sweet |
| 42 inches (the same maximum length allowed | | | | spot (the place on the bat for hitting the ball). A |
| today). Even though there was no rule regarding | | | | double-walled bat, a new design introduced in the |
| the shape of the bats, most of the players used | | | | 1990s, consists of an outer wall of |
| bats with flat surfaces. Baseball underwent several | | | | scandium-aluminum and an inner wall of a |
| developments during the succeeding years. In | | | | composite material (often graphite), and a thick |
| 1890, a committee made a rule concerning the | | | | fluid or rubber between these two walls. Today, |
| shape of the bat; the rule suggested the round | | | | standard wooden bats are made of maple, white |
| shape of the bat and fixed the diameter to 2.75 | | | | ash, and bamboo; these bats are used in |
| inches at the end | | | | professional baseball tournaments. |
| Baseball came to a new phase with the | | | | The past 150 years have seen many significant |
| introduction of metal belts in 1970. Bats made of | | | | changes to the baseball bat, and the design of the |
| aluminum became an instant success, as they are | | | | bat continues to evolve. |