Wood Bat 101: Holding a wood bat
At Akadema, we believe we make the best wood bats on the market. However, we are not able to guarantee our wood bats against breakage. It is our belief that the life of a wood bat is greatly dictated by the person using it. The "sweet spot" on a wood bat is much smaller than that of a metal bat and the consequences for not hitting the sweet spot of a wood bat are much more severe. Hitting balls off the very end of the bat or up near the fists will greatly reduce the lifespan of a wood bat. Also, it has been my personal experience that "younger" players (35 years and under) have used metal bats all of their lives and therefore were never taught the proper way to hold a wood bat. When holding a wood bat you should make sure that AT THE MOMENT OF IMPACT the "logo" or "trademark" should be facing either straight up or straight down. The trademark has been strategically placed on the bat to quickly indicate in which direction the strength of the grain is running. Most hitters will start with the trademark facing toward themselves. This technique works for most hitters but some hitters tend to rotate or roll the bat through the hitting zone so at the moment of impact the trademark is either facing forward (toward the pitcher) or backward (toward the catcher) greatly increasing the likelihood that the bat will break. If you are doing this you will see ball marks on the trademark side (front) of the bat or on the side of the bat opposite the trademark (back). To correct this, simply rotate the bat a quarter turn so that the trademark is facing either forward or backward when holding the bat and then at the moment of impact the trademark will be right where it is supposed to be.
