RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BAT MASS PROPERTIES AND BAT VELOCITY

Abstract

Seventeen male collegiate baseball players and seventeen female collegiate softball players were tested hitting with aluminum alloy bats with various weights and moments of inertia. The ball and bat were tracked with a motion analysis system. ANOVA revealed significant differences in bat linear velocity among the baseball bats and among the softball bats. Variations in bat angular velocity were non-significant for both the baseball bats and softball bats. There was a linear correlation between linear velocity and moment of inertia for both baseball and softball bats. To limit bat velocity, regulating both bat weight and center of gravity location would be a practical solution.