Ink Dot maple bat - confused?

The ink dot is placed on the face grain, and it's only there to make measuring grain run-out easier. A maple bat with more than about 3 degrees of run-out is not legal in MBL.

Unlike ash, maple and birch are very dense woods. There's very little difference in strength or flex on the face grain vs the edge grain, so it really doesn't matter how the hitter aligns the bat. I've seen big leaguers hold the bat both ways, and I've seen some spin the bat in their hands while it's on their shoulder. 

O.K., so either way. Thanks. And, I've also been confused watching major leaguers do the things you mentioned above.

Label if you are tired, label down if you feel strong. It appears as a longer bat.

Bob

This is the best explanation I've come across:

http://woodbat.blogspot.com/20...ted-and-studied.html

Real good visual about half way down the page.

http://www.texastimberbats.com/pages/faq

I've read most of this stuff before and I can't find any evidence to support Biddle's assertion that the panel found hitting on the edge grain is "very likely a big part of the problem" (with breaking maple bats). I tend to think it's a very minor part of the problem. Everything I've read concludes that the most significant factor by far was/is grain run-out (slope of grain). That's why you rarely see broken MLB bats that look like sharp weapons these days, the manufacturers are making bats from billets with much straighter grain. And also why a high quality bat will usually outlast a cheap one (grain not straight) by a lot.

I'm still not completely sold that hitting on the face grain makes much, if any, difference on breakage. The science is solid that a maple bat handle is stronger on the face grain than on its edge grain (which is the origin of the label recommendation). However, that only measures dropping a weight on the end of the handle until it breaks. That doesn't really account for what happens to a handle when the ball is hit hard off the end of the barrel. That's a different kind of stress on the handle (see picture where ball is hit on the face grain). The difference in strength between edge/face is completely different with ash. So I'll continue to believe that it really doesn't matter with maple, but I do acknowledge MLB recommends hitting maple on the face grain for safety purposes.

But what I'd really like to see is a study comparing ball exit speeds from the two sides. (A project for the new group at Driveline Hitting?) Most guys would give up a little durability for more pop.

More references:

http://www.rockbats.com/techNotes/RB-TN-F.pdf

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal...tid=2013/07/0144.xml

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_...xt=.jsp&c_id=mlb

MidAtlanticDad posted:

I've read most of this stuff before and I can't find any evidence to support Biddle's assertion that the panel found hitting on the edge grain is "very likely a big part of the problem" (with breaking maple bats). I tend to think it's a very minor part of the problem. Everything I've read concludes that the most significant factor by far was/is grain run-out (slope of grain). That's why you rarely see broken MLB bats that look like sharp weapons these days, the manufacturers are making bats from billets with much straighter grain. And also why a high quality bat will usually outlast a cheap one (grain not straight) by a lot.

I'm still not completely sold that hitting on the face grain makes much, if any, difference on breakage. The science is solid that a maple bat handle is stronger on the face grain than on its edge grain (which is the origin of the label recommendation). However, that only measures dropping a weight on the end of the handle until it breaks. That doesn't really account for what happens to a handle when the ball is hit hard off the end of the barrel. That's a different kind of stress on the handle (see picture where ball is hit on the face grain). The difference in strength between edge/face is completely different with ash. So I'll continue to believe that it really doesn't matter with maple, but I do acknowledge MLB recommends hitting maple on the face grain for safety purposes.

But what I'd really like to see is a study comparing ball exit speeds from the two sides. (A project for the new group at Driveline Hitting?) Most guys would give up a little durability for more pop.

 

More references:

http://www.rockbats.com/techNotes/RB-TN-F.pdf

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal...tid=2013/07/0144.xml

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_...xt=.jsp&c_id=mlb

The exit speed is the key. Especially with MLB guys. They can afford to break bats. What they want is performance. But is there anything to state that the edge grains are higher performing than the face grains with either maple or ash? Essentially, the only reason we hit that way is based on how ash bats break. I guess it's possible that ash bats perform better when hit on the face grains, but break too easily, so they're hit on the edge grains for durability.

I watched a game yesterday and tried to note what players were doing if I could see an ink dot. Nick Markakis clearly went with the label up on his bat. Teammate Adonis Garcia seemed to go with the ink dot label facing up. 

Stafford, I don't know of any testing like you're describing. IMO, ash is pretty simple... it breaks too easily on the face grain, so not an option.

These guys are hitting maple on edge grain... at least on these ABs.