Production's Blog: What is a B-1 Bat?
One of the things that make B45 such a unique bat manufacturing company is that in addition to the dozens of the most popular models of baseball bats (like B271, B243c, B110, for example), B45 also makes a wide variety of customized, or specialized bats, for our clients. It’s not surprising that many pro baseball players choose to customize their bats to fit their comfort level. After all, a craftsman is only as good as his tools. So what does customization of bats have to do with B-1 bats?
B-1 bats are created when esthetic or structure of the bat does not meet our high qualification standards. That could happen a couple of different ways. First, the physical dimensions of the bat may not be the same as the client’s specifications. For example, the flare in the knob is slightly bigger or smaller than the bat being ordered, or the handle and barrel size doesn't match exactly required specs.
The second and most common reason B-1 bats are created is due to Big Leagues’ ink dot requirements for bats made for professional players. For those unfamiliar, the Big Leagues require an ink dot to be placed between 11 and 13 inches from the knob of the bat and straight up to 3 degrees.
So, when a pro bat is made to exact specification, but the ink dot fibres don't make it, the bat fails to make it to the MLB, but not to amateurs.
B-1 models are not uniformly shaped. It’s not impossible to come across two B-1 bats with the same exact specifications, but your chances are pretty slim. They come in an assortment of shapes and colors because each individual bat was made to different exact specifications. We would argue, however, that these bats offer the best value for clients because they are generally made from our premium quality wood and therefore are at or very near Big Leagues’ strict requirements, and at a fraction of the cost of premium pricing.
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