- “Design Implementation of Baseball Bats: Reinforced Bats—A Case Study” N.M. Ravindra, Ivan Padron, Priyanka Singh, Bhumi Bhatt, Vishal Singh, and Kevin Fritz. JOM, 2012https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256292995_Design_Implementation_of_Baseball_Bats_Reinforced_Bats-A_Case_Study
Background: This is a Case study on the design and physics of what makes a baseball bat comfortable, unique, and safe for all players on the field.
How I used it: I used it to showcase the importance of the design of baseball bats and how they should be made with the care to note the comfortability and effectiveness all bats must strive for.
- “Performance assessment of wood, metal and composite baseball bats” MM Shenoy, LV Smith, JT Axtell. Composite Structures, 2001
Background: A seven-layered outline of certain materials, either wood, metal, or plastic, for certain bats and how they are tested with machines or drills to determine their durability.
How I used it: I used it to note the regulations and evaluations researchers do to judge a bat’s material and durability, hoping to learn which is the best and most durable material the bat can be made with.
- “Temporal Coordination Strategies in Baseball Hitting: Insights from Stationary vs. Oncoming Ball Analysis” T Ino, H Katsumata. Journal of Kinesiology and Sports Science, 2024
Background: This is an examination of the physics of bat-ball contact and how the pressures of those two forces are met, along with the multiple forms of bating players may do to alleviate the stress of the two forces.
How I used it: I used it to best explain the physics behind bat-to-ball contact and the force that can come off such a collision to affect the bat in such a way that it may break apart, even going over certain areas in a bat that could break regardless of quality.
- “The Breaking Point: Examining the Potential Liability of Maple Baseball Bat Manufacturers for Injuries Caused by Broken Maple Baseball Bats” MA Westover, Penn St. L. Rev., 2010 HeinOnline
Background:An Article on the history of Bat fractures, regarding their materials and the pressure they were under during bat-to-ball contact
How I used it: I used it as a nice ease into the different types of wood that bats were made out of, either birch, maple, or ash. This gave me a bold understanding of the usage of maple with its massive density and overall durability. It was a nice read to get a look forward to whatever the other two woods may provide.
5. RAWLINGS SPORTING GOODS COMPANY, INC.: STRATEGIC CHALLENGES
Nickerson, Inge; Rarick, Charles.Jordan Whitney Enterprises, Inc. , 2000
Background: A Study on the materials and sporting goods sold by Rawlings, the official sporting goods company of the MLB, and many more.
How I used it: I used this to showcase the financial side of the results for faulty equipment from a long-time official MLB partner in Rawlings Sporting goods.
6. Leahey, A. (2022, September 2). MLB official baseball rules, annotated: Equipment and uniforms (Part 3). Baseball Prospectus. https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/77155/mlb-official-baseball-rules-annoted-equipment-and-uniforms-part-3/
Background: An overall Play-by-play and listing of any variety of equipment used by players of the MLB, going over materials used and as many inches of how wide a piece of equipment can even be.
How I used it: I used this article to note all the current standards that lie within the MLB guidelines, noting the usage of only wooden bats and the exact with and size of all forms of equipment used in a season.
7. Sherwood, J., & Drane, P. (2019). Design and materials in baseball. In Materials in sports equipment (pp. [235 – 279]). Elsevier. https://app-knovel-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/web/view/khtml/show.v/rcid:kpMSEE0002/cid:kt0121XT45/viewerType:khtml/?page=1&view=collapsed&zoom=1
Background: A Publishing on the makings of wooden bats detailing some reason and idea of what the MLB asks for in their equipment crafting
How I used it: I used this to note the understanding of how metal bats may be far more superior to wooden bats given their immense durability and sluggish power, but also keeping in mind to respect the sport’s intentions of keeping tradition afloat with the use of wooden.
8. Campshure, B., Drane, P., & Sherwood, J. A. (2022). An investigation of wood baseball bat durability as a function of bat profile and slope of grain using finite element modeling and statistical analysis. Electronics, 12(7), 3494. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/7/3494
Background: An analysis of four different types of bats made to replicate and over-test the density from different woods that could be implemented into the game, as well as going over multiple impact locations that could devastate any sort of wooden bat and finding out its weakest location.
How I used it: I used this to explain one of the different factors of Bat construction in Grain slopes, which is the angle of the wood grain about a line parallel to the bat’s longitudinal axis. That MLB will even let the bat be playable with the correct measurement of less than 3 degrees.
9. Ravindra, N. M., Sushil, K., & Ivan, P. (2009). Physics of baseball bats—An analysis. International Journal of Sports Science and Engineering, 3(4), 161-172. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228677376
Background: An article on the physics and formations of bat swings that demonstrates the different feelings between metal and wooden bats helps with MBL standards of why wooden bats are used.
How I used it: I used this to look at the weight distribution of the bat and how many times players switch stances due to a bat’s maximum weight and measurements, which affects the contact between bat and ball.
10. Diaz, J. (2012). Beware of deadly flying bats: An examination of the legal implications of maple bat injuries in Major League Baseball. Seton Hall Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, 22(2), 227-258. https://scholarship.shu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1098&context=student_scholarship
Background: An article that details the hazardous cause of a splintered bat during a game, explaining its major injuries of splinter, wood splintering in the catcher, and the numerous other hazards beyond that of bad equipment.
How I used it: I used this Article to note and explain to the reader the harmful effects that may occur when using a faulty bat, either having it splinter and have a shard of wood lodged into the player or any possible wrist injury based off of bad gripping.
All sources were Cited from Google Scholar and some were used via Rowan Library
Counterintuitive Fall 2024 
Graded