The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	Role of materials & design on performance of baseball bats
Author:	Benson-Worth, Kim
View Online:	njit-etd2013-059 (xi, 59 pages ~ 5.4 MB pdf)
Department:	Committee for the Interdisciplinary Program in Materials Science and Engineering
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Materials Science and Engineering
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Ravindra, N. M. (Committee chair) Ahn, Ken Keunhyuk (Committee member) Fiory, Anthony (Committee member) Kaufman, Peter (Committee member)
Date:	2013-05
Keywords:	Baseball bat safety Multi-piece failures Slope of grain
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	Baseball bat safety has become an increasing area of interest with more than 19 million people in the United States alone participating in this sport. An increase in injuries resulting from bat injuries has brought the performance of the bats into question. A review of several studies focusing on the effects of the material properties of various baseball bats designs were examined. From this review it is evident that player and spectator safety greatly rely on proper baseball bat design. There was a 30% reduction in the Multi-Piece Failures (MPF) of wooden bats once the requirement of a Slope of Grain (SOG) of 1:20 or 3 degrees was introduced in 2009. Further research into the implications of material and design can only help increase the safety to players and spectators.