Wood Baseball Bats - Ash versus Maple

Ash is the more traditional wood used for baseball bats.  It is usually a little cheaper and by most accounts, breaks a little easier than maple.  When Ash bats break, they tend to crack down the grains in the bat.  Ash is typically a little lighter than Maple.  Ash is also more flexible than Maple and has porous grain lines.  Ash tends to dry out and will begin to flake after a year or two.  

Maple is slighter harder than Ash and more dense.  Maple typically weighs a little more than Ash.  When Maple bats do break, they tend to break apart more violently than Ash bats.  Maple bats are stiffer and will not flake with age.  

We try to keep our prices low enough that the occasional broken bat is not a financial tragedy.  Typically, pitch speed and hand strength of youth players are not extreme enough to result in a significant amount of broken bats.  Also, with shorter lengths, the moment caused by an end impact is smaller than with a longer bat.  Because maple is stiffer than Ash, when bats are made longer than 34", the thin handles can't flex to absorb the shock of an end impact and are more likely to break.  This isn't a significant concern with youth bats.  Many bat makers will not make bats in maple longer than 34 inches.  

Whichever wood you decide on, we truly try to make a high quality product that your youth player will have a positive experience using.