Frequently Asked Questions

Q - What do the -2, -3, etc. weights mean?

  A - The minus number is the drop in weight from the length of the bat. You just subtract the minus number from the length of the bat you want, and that would give you the actual weight in ounces. For example if you were looking at a 33 inch, -5 weight bat, it would actually weigh 28 ounces (33 - 5 = 28). If you were looking at a 34 inch, -2 weight bat, it would actually weigh 32 ounces (34 -2 = 32).

Q - How come you can't go lighter than minus 5 ... for example, why can't I get a 34 inch / 28 oz. softball bat?

 A - The reason -5 is the lightest we can go, is because that is what the wood dictates.  Making bats is a lot trickier than you would think!  There is a natural density range that every species has, which means for a given size piece of wood, there is a range that that piece of wood can weigh.  The -5 softball bats are on the light end of the weight range for hard maple.  So basically to make one lighter, you would need lighter wood, which is not possible with Hard Maple.  You could go into a less dense wood, like ash, and get some lighter weight bats, but than DURABILITY becomes a big issue.  That is why our bats are the strongest bats around!

Q - How long can the personalization be?

  A - We try to keep it under 23 characters per line of personalization. The only exception would be the Award Bat, the engraving can be longer, but still try to keep it under 30 characters per line.

Q - How fast can I get my bat?

  A - It totally depends on what you order. The production time for custom bats varies depending on the model of bat you are looking for, and our workload at the time. The average time for production of custom bats is 4-5 business days, but it can be as fast as 3 business days, or as long as 10 business days. In addition to the production time, you have to add the shipping time. The shipping time depends on where you live. If the order is shipped UPS ground, the transit time could be anywhere between 1-6 days, depending on how far you are from the East Coast. There is expedited shipping available if you need your order urgently. But YOU WILL PAY FOR EXPEDITED SHIPPING COSTS.  

Q - Last time I ordered one of your A bats, it was cupped, the bat I ordered this time was not cupped. Why is that?

  A - By default, we cup the bats to weight. That means we use the cup to fine tune the weight of the bat to get it exactly what you ordered. Very few bats leave our shop that are not at least within 1/10 of an ounce of the targeted weight! If you do prefer to have your bats cupped, or not cupped, you can specify that when ordering, otherwise they will be cupped to weight.

Q - Years back, in the sport of Over-The-Line, everyone had "Mag" bats. These bats were tapered a specific way. Is it possible for BP SPORTS to duplicate the old "Mag" bat?

  A - Due to the types of machines that we use, we can not do that at this time. For us to copy a bat, or make a new model, we have to build tooling for the new bat. The tooling for each model runs between $1000, and $1500 per model, so it's not feasible for us to do it for a few bats. We would have to have a very large , large order of 1,000 bats or more to create a new tooling machine like this. We do have the SB72 though, that has the tapered handle.

Q - How much does shipping cost?

  A - Berndog will divide the shipping costs amongst several different orders, if he places several at once. So your shipping will be at the lowest possible cost. Another time, your shipping might be more, and that may be because your order was a sole order. If you order through the Manufacturer directly, you will pay the same price for your bat and you will have to pay all your own shipping and handling also, plus a surcharge if under $100. If you require expedited shipping (2nd day air, Overnight, ect.) we charge whatever the actual shipping cost is. Outside the Continental US - We charge whatever the actual shipping cost is. If you do not live in Southern California or are not an OTLer, we charge you whatever shipping cost is.

Q - I play in an ASA softball league, can I use your wood bats?

  A - Yes, all of our softball bats conform to the ASA specifications for wood bats. All of our softball bats have "Official Softball" laser engraved on the barrel. The one thing you will have to do is tape the handle. ASA requires some sort of grip on the handle of the bat. There are rubber grip tapes available, but they are very thick, and increase the handle size considerably. Most people choose to just wrap the handle with athletic tape.

Q - Can I use your wood youth bats in Little League?

  A - Yes, with the exception of the Prodigy, and Renegade bat in the 31 inch length. Little League rules state that wood bats 31 inches or longer have to have at least a 15/16 inch handle. The Prodigy, and Renegade bats have a 7/8 handle.

Q - What is the difference between our hard SUGAR-MAPLE bats and other maple bats or ash?

  A - Wood Bats are quickly regaining popularity since the aluminum bat basically took over baseball in the 70’s. Most of todays baseball players, young and old, really don’t know a lot about wood bats. We have put this page together to try to explain the facts and fictions about wood bats as accurately and honestly as possible. Making a wood bat is part art and part science. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye! Hopefully after reading this, you will have a little better idea on how it all works!

  Over the years, wood bat manufacturers have tried about every species of wood imaginable to make their bats out of. Ash was traditionally used because it is easy to work with, is naturally straight grained, holds up fairly well, and is inexpensive. Many other species were tried, but they all had too many disadvantages to be commercially used. With the introduction of modern kiln drying processes, there are a few species of wood that have made their way into mainstream baseball.

  Maple is by far the most popular non-ash bat out there today. Maple is much stronger and more durable than ash. It was used some in the past, but it was just too heavy to be accepted in the mainstream. Modern kiln drying processes have made it possible. A common perception of maple is that it’s stronger than ash, but heavier. That is actually only partly true. Maple is definitely stronger and more dense than ash, but that does not necessarily mean that a maple bat will be heavier than an ash bat. That will be explained in detail below. There are several different species of maple, but they all fit into two categories, hard maple, and soft maple. Hard maple is what is used for bats. To be specific, sugar maple is the species that bats are made of. It is most commonly called hard maple, sugar maple, or rock maple, but they all refer to sugar maple. Soft maple is not great for bats. Although still a hardwood, soft maple will not last near as long as hard maple will in a bat. There are some manufacturers that do use soft maple for some of their bats. It is easier to work with, and half the price of hard maple. It takes a highly trained eye to look at a bat and tell if it is hard or soft maple.

  There are several different characteristics of both wood species, and bat design that contribute to how the bat performs at the plate. The characteristics of each species of wood is controlled by Mother Nature, but the same species growing in different climates will have slight differences.

  Since Mother Nature controls the characteristics of the species, it only makes sense that it is an uncontrollable variable. That is not totally the case. Every different species of wood has certain climate conditions that it thrives best in. As you get farther from it’s preferred conditions, it does not do as well, and the overall quality of the wood deteriorates. By only using wood that was grown in certain areas, you can control the quality. This is not a new concept. In the high end furniture industry, as well as the bat industry this was figured out long ago. The best quality hardwoods in the world come out of the northeastern part of the US, and southeastern Canada. In the high end furniture industry, it is a well known fact that the best Cherry in the world comes out of the forests of southern New York, and northern Pennsylvania. Louisville Slugger figured this out long ago, and even though they are based in Kentucky, their biggest sawmills (where their wood comes from) are in northern Pennsylvania and southern New York. The problem is, the location of the bat company has nothing to do with where they get their wood from, so there is no real easy way to tell where they are getting their wood.

  Now we’ll compare the differences between ash and maple. Maple has a much higher density than ash, so it only makes sense that maple is heavier. That higher density is one of the things that makes maple stronger than ash. The main reason maple was not widely used in the past was because of the high density. It was just too heavy. This is where the moisture content of the wood comes into play. Moisture content contributes to two things, the weight of the wood, and how flexible the wood is. Just think of a small branch on a tree, compared to a twig that has been on the ground for a while. The branch on the tree is very flexible, and much heavier, while the twig that has been on the ground for a while will break before you can bend it much, and is much lighter. The lower the moisture content in a piece of wood the lighter and less flexible it will be. If the moisture content gets too low, the wood will become brittle, and will break very easily.

  The standard for drying wood in the furniture industry is 6-8% moisture content. Ash bats are dried to a 10-12% moisture content. This is because at 10-12% moisture content, the weight of the wood is the easiest to work with. Even though hard maple has a higher density than ash, by drying it to a lower moisture content, you can make them weigh the same as an ash bat that is dried to a higher moisture content. Basically you get the same bat weight in the end, but the maple is much stronger.

  Grain structure is very important in a wood bat. When talking about grain structure, we are actually referring to the straightness of the grain, and the strength of the grain seperations between different species of wood. For wood bats, as a general rule the straighter the grain the better.

  The difference in the grain structure between hard maple and ash contributes to maple lasting longer. The grain structure in hard maple is very tight, with only a small visible line separating the grains of the wood. The grain structure in ash is very porus, which makes the bat very susceptible to flaking after extended use. The biggest difference between ash and maple to a ballplayer is the characteristics of the wood itself. With ash, there are several different grades of bats, all based on grain count. The higher the number of grains per inch the lower quality the bat. Since the grain separations in ash are so porus, they are weak, therefore the higher the number of grains in a bat, the higher the chance the bat will break. Due to the nature of how ash grows, the lower the grain count per inch, the stronger the grain is. The problem is that only a very small percentage of ash bats have the very low grain counts (top quality ash bats). The percentage is so small, that bat manufacturers will only sell those top quality ash bats to their pro customers. Even the minor leagues can not usually get the top quality ash. By the time you get down to the ash bats you can buy at a store, the only thing you can get is the lower quality ash. They may still be advertised as the same bats the pro’s use, and they very well could be the same model, but not the same wood quality. This is the main reason that maple is becoming so popular. Ash will always be in pro ball, because the top quality ash bats are very good bats. With maple, the only thing that separates high quality bats from low quality bats is the straightness of the grain and physical defects in the wood. No matter what species of wood you are using, straightness of the grain and defects is the first thing that the wood is sorted for, and it’s not considered to be good for a bat unless the grain is straight, and there are no defects. What this means is with maple you can actually get the same quality wood as the pro’s use! Even our youth bats are made out of the same quality wood that we make our pro bats out of. That’s not a just a pitch for our youth bats, it’s just that all other variables being equal, so long as the grain is straight and there are no defects, there are no wood quality differences with maple.

HELP MAKE YOUR BAT LAST LONGER WITH THESE HELPFUL TIPS!

KEEP THE TRADEMARK FACING SKYWARD when you make contact with the ball. Avoid making contact on the trademark or opposite side of the trademark as much as possible. More importantly, look at the marks the ball leaves on your bat. Position the label before each swing in such a way to insure proper placement of the ball upon contact.

Ball Marks can be cleaned with ordinary soap & water. Tougher marks and pine tar can be removed with mineral spirits. Avoid using paint thinner as it WILL damage the finish.

Avoid extreme quick temperature changes and extended periods of high heat. Storing your bat in your trunk should be avoided.