2010 Slow Pitch Softball Bats

Men used homemade baseball bats that were sometimes long, short, heavy, or even flat. This seemingly simple tool would not be perfected for quite some time. The first rules of the game set by an organization were laid out in 1845 by the amateur New York Knickerbockers. This was a team that was created as a social club for the upper middle classes of New York City. The club members were led by Alexander Cartwright, who is actually credited with being the 'father' of baseball which is widely misunderstood to have been Abner Doubleday.

Louisville Slugger

The Knickerbockers were the first to play under the 'force out' rules of the game and could no longer get a base runner out by hitting or 'plugging' him with the ball. In 1859, the rules finally set guidelines that restricted the size of the bat. Baseball bats were now being restricted to 2.5 inches in diameter. Ten years later a rule stating that the length of a baseball bat could not exceed 42 inches was set in place and that rule has been the same until today.

Although, no ballplayers use a bat anywhere near that length when playing in a game. By 1890, the rules regarding a baseball bat became much more detailed stating that a bat had to be round and could no longer be sawed off; this was shortly after the first American bat making company opened up shop. Pete Browning was a player on the hometown Louisville baseball team in 1884. Attending one of the local ballgames, then 17 year old John Hillerich, who was a wood worker for his father, witnessed Browning break his favorite bat in a ballgame.

After the game, Hillerich went home to craft a replacement bat out of white ash lumber for Browning. The next game Browning went 3 for 3 causing that bat to become known unofficially as' the Louisville Slugger baseball bat'. Word traveled fast of this new creation and soon after people were paying the father and son wood workers to craft more. The Hillerich's started making baseball bats under that soon to be household name.

Honus Wagner was the first player to endorse a Louisville baseball bat by allowing his name to be engraved into the bat which is still done to this day. The bats have always been top quality and have basically been the same baseball bat over time, but are lighter weight and have thinner handles nowadays.

Louisville Slugger baseball bat reviews are normally very favorable by comparison to other baseball bat reviews. By popular demand 'Louisville Slugger' has been in business for good.

Joe Rodgers teaches fundamentals to increase bat speed and reaction time at the plate and gives baseball bat reviews to help when selecting the right baseball bat for you.