Pedroia and the Axe Bat

[DJnVa]

If this is being talked about somewhere else, I completely missed it and please delete this.
 
But I found this article fascinating: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/why-dustin-pedroia-uses-the-axe-bat--which-may-make-the-round-handle-obsolete-013113798.html
 

Today's version looks about the same as it has for decades – maybe a little shorter and lighter, some with cupped barrels, all with the same round knob on the handle, save for a single bat of those used by the 750 major leaguers. It belongs to Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, and the man who helped make it a reality sees a future where all bats share the same handle as another humble tool: the axe.

 

The Axe Bat replaces the knob with an oval-shaped handle that tapers into a curved, angled bottom.

 

Pedroia has spent a month using it as his lone bat, and the results are promising: Over the 28 games since he switched, he is hitting .353/.386/.504. His 42 hits over the past month are tied for the fourth most in baseball. And it's all with a bat that grew out of a simple question: Why does the knob – the one piece of the bat known to hurt players, particularly those who grip it on the lower edge of the palm and put their hamate bones in danger – still exist when it imperils those it's supposed to help?

 
 
http://axebat.com/
 
Is there discussion of this elsewhere?
 
 

 

[CarolinaBeerGuy]

I read about these bats a while back (maybe on SoSh, I don't remember) and the article suggested that it wouldn't catch on because baseball players are notoriously opposed to change. This bat seems to be very innovative and could potentially prevent many injuries. I'm excited and a bit surprised to see that Pedey is the one who is an early adopter. The (SSS) results look positive.

 

[The Talented Allen Ripley]

It's interesting when you compare it to golf, where innovative club design is embraced (and perhaps fetishized).
 
Obviously there's a lot less you can do to change a wooden bat than you can to a golf club, but the axe handle concept is a simple idea that has a real-world history in its application (um, axes), yet it took this long to come to fruition and there still seems to be a reluctance to accept it.
 
Edit: I wonder how much you can change the design of a wooden bat and still have it meet specifications. Specs here.
 

1.10
(a) The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 23/4 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.
NOTE: No laminated or experimental bats shall be used in a professional game (either championship season or exhibition games) until the manufacturer has secured approval from the Rules Committee of his design and methods of manufacture.
(b) Cupped Bats. An indentation in the end of the bat up to one inch in depth is permitted and may be no wider than two inches and no less than one inch in diameter. The indentation must be curved with no foreign substance added.
(c) The bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from its end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance, which extends past the 18 inch limitation, shall cause the bat to be removed from the game.
NOTE: If the umpire discovers that the bat does not conform to (c) above until a time during or after which the bat has been used in play, it shall not be grounds for declaring the batter out, or ejected from the game.
(d) No colored bat may be used in a professional game unless approved by the Rules Committee.
 

 

[StuckOnYouk]

Is he DL bound with Marrero in the sox clubhouse per Speier?

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

 
 
Edit: I wonder how much you can change the design of a wooden bat and still have it meet specifications. Specs here.
 

 
I guess technically since the last few inches are oval, you could argue that it violates the "round" provision in 1.10.a? Though it's hard to imagine anyone making that argument, since the difference mainly serves to prevent injuries to players (and perhaps spectators?).

 

[DJnVa]

With Pedroia using it to seemingly good effect, one wonders if some other guys are taking swings with them in BP. I'm looking at you Napoli.
 
Obviously the science isn't all flushed out yet, but it seems to be a very intriguing start.

 

[finnVT]

 
I guess technically since the last few inches are oval, you could argue that it violates the "round" provision in 1.10.a? Though it's hard to imagine anyone making that argument, since the difference mainly serves to prevent injuries to players (and perhaps spectators?).

You'd think the note ("No laminated or experimental bats shall be used in a professional game...until the manufacturer has secured approval from the Rules Committee of his design and methods of manufacture") would kind of supersede any other rules issues.... either it's been approved, in which case it would seem to have passed that statute, or it hasn't, in which case it shouldn't be in use.  Unless you argue that this doesn't fall under the definition of "experimental", which I suppose is possible.

 

[DJnVa]

 either it's been approved, in which case it would seem to have passed that statute, or it hasn't, in which case it shouldn't be in use

 
Are people thinking MLB hasn't approved this bat?
 

I think it's only a matter of time before the axe-shaped handle is the standard," said Hugh Tompkins, the director of research and development for Baden Sports, a Seattle-area company that created the Axe Bat, which this year received permission from Major League Baseball for in-game use
 

 

[sodenj5]

I've seen these bats before and sort of always thought they're more likely to break than an average bat because the handle largely forces you to hit the ball in the same area of the bat, whereas you can rotate a normal bat and hit the ball in different areas.

Maybe at that level, any fastball can potentially break any bat and it renders my point moot, but I saw the design in composite softball bats before and thought it was dumb for that reason.

 

[absintheofmalaise]

I've seen these bats before and sort of always thought they're more likely to break than an average bat because the handle largely forces you to hit the ball in the same area of the bat, whereas you can rotate a normal bat and hit the ball in different areas.

Maybe at that level, any fastball can potentially break any bat and it renders my point moot, but I saw the design in composite softball bats before and thought it was dumb for that reason.

Out of curiosity, are you an engineer.

 

[smastroyin]

I don't think the bat breaking is really a problem so much as there will be resistance from guys who like "sweet spots" and therefore want to be able to rotate the bat to find them.  

 

[Eddie Jurak]

In other news, Roger Goodell is looking into suspending Pedroia for the remainder of the season.

 

[JimBoSox9]

I've seen these bats before and sort of always thought they're more likely to break than an average bat because the handle largely forces you to hit the ball in the same area of the bat, whereas you can rotate a normal bat and hit the ball in different areas.

Maybe at that level, any fastball can potentially break any bat and it renders my point moot, but I saw the design in composite softball bats before and thought it was dumb for that reason.

 
Even with the 360-sweet-spot designs, I'd be stunned if most hitters didn't continue to only swing label-up.

 

[DJnVa]

I don't think the bat breaking is really a problem so much as there will be resistance from guys who like "sweet spots" and therefore want to be able to rotate the bat to find them.  

 

“Don’t you always hit the same side of the bat?” This is the first question we are asked when someone sees the Axe for the first time. The answer is, fortunately yes! Knowing the direction the ball will be coming from is a huge advantage for our engineers. We’re able to make our barrels more like a golf driver than a traditional bat, with a hitting side and a non-hitting side. This allows us to use asymmetric internal barrel constructions that add more performance and durability to the hitting face than any round handled bat ever could.
The Axe Bat’s Engineered Hitting Zone (the 270° portion of the bat lefties and righties hit) is designed to perform closer to the legal limit than any other bat on the market.  Also, without having to worry about a player hitting on the non-hitting side, we can brace performance improving technologies like Plus-Plus and ACR off that side of the barrel. This advantage is only achievable because of the Axe.

 

[Papelbon's Poutine]

In other news, Roger Goodell is looking into suspending Pedroia for the remainder of the season.

 
See, it's still not funny...

 

[sodenj5]

Out of curiosity, are you an engineer.

CNC Programmer/Engineer. I played a lot of softball, so I know a little something about composite bats.
 
The asymetrical design is interesting. The typical composite softball or baseball bat has a sort of life cycle. There's a break in cycle when the fibers are very tightly woven. The bat doesn't show a lot of pop at that point. As the bat gets more swings on it, the fibers begin to loosen up and break, and at a certain point the bat is "hot." When the bat is hot, you really start to get that trampoline effect. The wall of the bat actually compresses and launches the ball off the barrel. The break in period is different for different bats, but once it's hot, you can tell there's a distinct difference in sound and feel. The bat is hot for X amount of swings, and then at some point it typically cracks or breaks.
 
From a lifespan or durability standpoint, the composite bat doesn't last nearly as long as a traditional aluminum bat, but the performance of the bat when it's broken in blows those old bats out of the water.

 

[santadevil]

I swear I read about these when I was still playing competitively. But that was 11 years ago. I think I even ran across a guy that had one.

Anyway, interesting stuff. Glad someone is trying it out.

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

Stories like this might get more people talking about Pedroia's bat:
 
Stanton reportedly has broken bone in hand
 

"On a swing, my bat dug into my hand a little bit," Stanton said.

<snip>

"It's just pain where I grip the bat," Stanton said. "I think it just kind of got worse and worse."