text: History of the bat When baseball was in its beginning years, baseball players made their own bats.  This allowed players to experiment with different shapes and sizes of the bats.  It did not take long for players to realize that the best bats were those with rounded barrels.  Wood bats are rare at most levels other than the pros. The majority of wood baseball bats today are made from northern white ash harvested from Pennsylvania or New York. White ash is used because of its hardness, durability, strength, weight and feel. Trees that provide the lumber for baseball bats are often 50 years old, and of all the lumber harvested, the top 10 percent is saved for pro bats.  Recent technology in drying wood has created bats with lower moisture content, which are light enough to make effective baseball bats. Rock or Sugar Maple bats are preferred. Maple bats cost more than white ash, but they often last longer as a result of their high strength.
  Types of bats
  In addition to the Louisville Slugger, there are many other types of bats that have been used throughout the history of baseball.
  The introduction of aluminum baseball bats in the 1970s forever changed the game of baseball at every level but the professional. Aluminum bats are lighter and stronger than wooden bats. Because of the trampoline effect that occurs when a baseball hit an aluminum bat, aluminum bats can hit a ball significantly farther than wooden bats can.
  In light of the increase in power of composite and alloy bats, the NCAA  and NFHS have adopted more stringent standards against the use of composite and alloy bats. The NCAA changed standards at the start of the 2011 season, and the NFHS plans to complete the change in the 2012 baseball season.
  Bat design
  The design of bats also continues to evolve as manufacturers search for ways to magnify the trampoline effect and increase the size of the bat's “sweet spot.”  In aluminum bats, a double-walled bat was introduced in the late 1990s.  This design comprises an outer wall of scandium-aluminum, an inner wall of a composite material, and a “filling of rubber or a thick fluid between the two walls.