Bamboo bats are good for practice but are typically not allowed in a wood bat league or tournament play. They are treated as composite bats, they are pretty strong, but not as strong as composite, and do not have the feel of a true wood bat.
Since they do not break as easily, especially at the handle, a hitter has a bit more advantage since he is less likely to get sawed off by a good pitch. This is probably one reason they are not allowed.
Posts: 818 | Location: Sunshine State | Registered: January 03, 2006
Because, ive been fooling around lately with a wood lathe trying to make my own wood bat. And the wood of choice is birch, because we just cut some birch down in our back yard.
Posts: 152 | Location: Alaska | Registered: June 26, 2005
Bamboo is grass not wood. The way the grass chutes are compacted to make a bat makes them much denser than wood and therefore illegal for wood bat play. That said, I know of a minor league player that got away with using bamboo bats one year. No one on the opposition noticed.
Posts: 1632 | Location: Mid-Atlantic | Registered: October 29, 2007