The Wonderboy!

Well summer is fast approaching and I can't wait!  My favorite thing about summer, other than golf obviously, is slow-pitch, the lazier, drunker, version of baseball or softball.  Back home most of the teenagers and young adults travel to slow-pitch tournaments around the area nearly every weekend.  We bring tents, sleeping bags, RV's or basically anything you can sleep in, on, or under.  The weekend is filled with playing ball, relaxing and partying with friends.  This year I figured it was time for a new bat.  Slow pitch bats are the same as softball bats as the barrel is a consistent size towards the end of the bat.  Baseball bats differ in that they increase in diameter nearly the entire length of the bat.  Baseball and softball bats are made of many different alloys these days other than the wood bats used in the MLB. Aluminum is the most common metal bat.  Worth began manufacturing aluminum bats in the 1970's.  Because these bats were able to be made stronger and lighter they were ideal for young kids who weren't strong enough to swing a wood bat.  The MLB has never allowed anything but wood baseball bats due to safety reasons.  This is good thing...Have you ever been to a baseball game?....There's nothing like the "crack" from a wooden bat.  

Wooden bats haven't gone through nearly as much change as you might thing.  For almost their entire history the bats have been made generally of white ash.  Louisville Slugger was one of the first companies to manufacture baseball bats.  It started in 1884 when a young 17-year-old boy was watching his favorite professional player in Louisville.  The player was frustrated that he had just broken his favorite bat so the boy asked if he could make him a new bat.  Well he did and the next game the player went 3 for 3.  Word spread quickly and soon after a brand name was born.  The only other major change in baseball bat manufacturing came in 2001.  When Barry Bonds had his magical season hitting 73 home runs, he was using a maple bat.  Well people try and copy success so since then the maple baseball bat has become a very popular option in the pro leagues.

What is the best baseball bat of all time?  In my opinion it's the Wonderboy!  Not sure if anyone else has seen the classic baseball movie The Natural but it's one of my favorites.  Check out this small clip of the movie:

Sean