Grades of Bat Lumber

Not all pieces of lumber are created equal. Baseball bats already require a unique combination of strength, flexibility, hardness, weight and durability. Then after choosing some of the best species of wood, each piece needs to meet certain standards in order to make a bat that will hit well without breaking. Lumber billets (the 2.75″ diameter wooden dowel a bat is made from) are graded primarily on grain straightness. The straighter the grain, the less likely the bat is to crack on a ball hit somewhere off the end of the bat or towards the handle.

Below are the grade options you will see throughout some of Webby Bats products.

Grade A

Grade A bats are game ready and visually inspected for grain straightness and defects. The grain will be straight through the handle and free of any knots. Grade A bats will not come ink dot tested. MOST grade A bats will past the ink dot test though. If you require an ink dot bat let me know and I will help you out.

Grade B

Grade B bats will only be inspected for severe grain defects, knots in the handle area, or open knots in the barrel. These can be great for BP, and even leagues with moderate pitching speeds.

So what does this mean for your bat?

Straight and clean grain through the handle of the bat (16-20 inches from the knob) will give your bat the greatest amount of durability possible. Will one grade of lumber hit better than another, no, not necessarily. Bat profile, weight, lumber hardness play a much larger role in the pop off the barrel. But the straighter and more uniform grain in bat will increase its chances of surviving a hit off the handle or end of the bat.