The Evolution of the Bat

I think it would be foolish to say they're not going to change at all bats will change over time simply because the players that are using them are changing too, weight lifting, conditioning. The athletes are just better than they used to be. In order that we don't end up with ballparks that are obsolete. Some of the conditions will have to change, whether those conditions will be just the bats, the balls may be changed too, because it's a significant factor in performance. As I've said earlier the trend in wooden bats has been to smaller handles and bigger barrels, lighter weights. We've probably gone about as far as we can go with that with the present wood at least. There may well be some new developments in wooden bats that will allow that to change. There may be some changes in the rules that would allow that to change. In aluminum bats, the trend has been for new development of higher and higher strength alloys in a lot of other sports endeavors, composites have become a very big factor. I think it's quite likely that somewhere along the line a satisfactory bat will be developed in composites for baseball or softball and it will have a factor in the market. The rules bodies are diligently looking at performance of bats however and have already put some limits on and they may put more limits on because they are not only concerned about the integrity of the game, the balance of offense versus defense, but they're also concerned about safety.