Production's Blog: The difference between Premium and Pro Select bats
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B45 manufactures three types of bats. All bats made for professional players, i.e., players playing in the Big Leagues or affiliated baseball, are called Premium bats.
Bats used in game situations for non-professional players, or amateurs, are called Pro Select bats.
Bats made for non-baseball purposes are called Promotional (or Trophy) bats.
Premium bats have two special requirements, imposed by the Big Leagues, on all bat manufacturing companies: The ink dot and the logo placement.
An ink dot must be placed between 11 and 13 inches from the knob of the bat (where the bats is weakest and most likely to break), an ink dot is placed on the fibres of the wood in order for the ink to seep into the wood. The lines created by the spreading of the ink have to be straight with 3 degrees to pass the Big Leagues’ regulations. These fibres indicate the strength of the wood used to make the bat.
The second requirement is that bat manufacturing companies must place its logo on the grain side of the bat. Studies have shown that the fibres on the face side of the wood are 12 percent stronger than fibres on the grain side, and therefore less likely to break.
Even though players are not prohibited from hitting against the grain side of the bat, they are encouraged to hit on the face side.
Pro Select bats are bats made for non-professional players of all levels. We make them with the same high-quality birch that is used for pro players, only difference is, we don't have to be as selective and precise with our billet selection. This is the reason why we are able to sell such high-quality, low priced bats. They don’t require ink dot testing, and company logos are placed on the face side of the bat.
Promotional bats are bats made for non-baseball activities. These consist of trophy and miniature bats. These bats are not safe for game activity either because of the density of the wood, or blemishes in the logs used to make the bats. These blemishes make the bats very weak in key areas of the bat, and can cause major harm if used improperly.