The Baseball Bat: From Trees to the Major Leagues, 19th Century to Today by Stephen M. Bratkovich (review)
- The Baseball Bat: From Trees to the Major Leagues, 19th Century to Today by Stephen M. Bratkovich
In The Baseball Bat, trained forester and wood enthusiast Stephen Bratkovich conducts extensive research into bat manufacturing. He visits several manufacturers who "opened their doors and welcomed 'the rookie' with open arms. Private tours, photographs, answers to endless questions," and provided review and feedback to the book chapter drafts (v). The book is primarily "focused on wooden baseball bats and the trees that produce them" (3). [End Page 215]
Chapter one traces the wood bat to historical games that involved striking objects with sticks. Although thought to exist as far back as 2400 BC, pinpointing the exact origin of the game we call "baseball" today is complicated. As Bratkovich notes, "bat and ball games played by youngsters have likely been around as long as we've had youngsters. Whether these games were played with a simple stick, small limb, or merely a hand as the 'bat' is open to argument" (6). This chapter delves into the twists and turns of the historical narratives that have evolved concerning the popularity of wood bats in ball and stick games.
Chapter two traces the evolution of bat design and material preferences. Bratkovich identifies one consistent truth: "Though baseball and its people have changed, the use of wood to make bats has not. In fact, at the highest level of baseball the object used to strike the ball is fashioned from a tree" (14). Players have used wood bats made from several different kinds of trees including sycamore, cherry, spruce, chestnut, poplar, basswood, willow, ash, maple, pine, and hickory.
Chapter three examines the history of companies that used these types of wood to make bats. The chapter discusses economic forces in the bat industry through an investigation of companies like Hillerich & Bradsby (known famously for the Louisville Slugger), Spalding, Wright & Ditson, and A. J. Reach Company.
Chapter four traces the evolution of bat makers after World War II from the larger companies to the boutique. The chapter examines the impact of the aluminum bat on the market of wood bats. For example, with the rise of aluminum bat companies like Worth and Easton, "Hillerich & Bradsby's wooden bat sales dropped almost overnight from seven million to one million per year" (51). The market forced Louisville Slugger into the metal bat market because the MLB market that required wooden bats was not enough to sustain the company.
In chapter five, Bratkovich makes a turn to study player preferences and the wood itself. He explaines, "It's important to remember that wood comes from trees … Wood evolved as a functional tissue of plants and not to satisfy MLB or the players who swing the objects known as bats" (58). Regardless of the type of wood, the perfect bat is hard to define. Bratkovich draws on former MLB player Scott Podsednik's statement in the New York Times: "'You can't describe it—it's a feel. When you pick it up and take a couple of swings with [End Page 216] it, you just know.' When this occurs with players, as Podsednik described, all information and scientific data about wood properties and features are out the door" (71).
Whatever bat the player chooses, they will always be prone to breakage. Chapter six examines much of the scientific data and processes that are in place to protect players from broken bats. In explaining that the goal is to reduce bat breakage, he notes, "Wooden bats will always break due to poor wood quality, prolonged bat use, incorrect contact with the ball, pitch speed, and other reasons too numerous to name" (84).
Chapters seven and eight discuss forests and the threat of pests to the trees in those forests. Tailoring the analysis of forests to each wood type, Bratkovich provides many details that play into the construction of a high-quality wood bat. For example, "The best white ash baseball-bat trees grow on the north...
