What is the little black ink dot for on wood baseball bats?
The ink dot test on a wood bat shows us the density and angle of the wood grain. In the MLB, the wood grain cannot exceed an angle of 2.86 degrees.
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While watching MLB games on TV and even while shopping for wood bats, you’ve probably noticed that little, black ink dot near the handle of the bat. Like most people, you probably thought, “I bet that’s there for some reason – I wonder what it is?” The short answer is that the ink dot is a test of how strong the grain is in a given, wood baseball bat.
The easiest way to describe it is that the ink dot shows you how straight the wood grains are as well as how close together they are. The closer together the wood grains, the denser the wood is (and, therefore, a stronger bat). Also, the straighter the grains in the bat, the stronger the bat is. MLB rules require that maple and birch bats employ the ink dot test because the grains in those particular types of wood are harder to see. Ash bats, on the other hand, have very prominent, easy to see grain patterns, therefore an ink dot test is not required on bats made of ash wood.
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How the Wood Bat Ink Dot Test Works The angle of the grain in a wood bat cannot exceed an angle of 2.86 degrees.
To test the grains of a maple or birch wood baseball bat, a single, black drop of ink is dropped from an eye dropper onto the plain wood of the bat about 11-12 inches up the handle, away from the knob. This allows us to test how straight the wood grains are. According to MLB regulations, the grain in a maple or birch wood bat cannot exceed an angle of more than 2.86 degrees.
Technically speaking, the angle of the grain in a wood baseball bat cannot exceed a deviation of 1-inch for every 20 inches of length.
Once the black ink flows into the grains of the wood, it leaves a clear path in the grain that shows the angle of deviation that can be measured with a simple protractor. If the wood-grain angle is less than 2.86 degrees, it’s good for play in the major leagues.
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In youth and high school leagues, it is very unlikely that your bat will be tested for any of these ink-dot tests and wood-grain regulations. At the same time, if you’re going to spend your money on a wood bat, you might as well get the strongest bat with the most pop that you can get.
Bats made of maple are typically the strongest wood bats available. Likewise, maple bats that pass the ink dot test ensure that you’re getting the best pop you can get out of your wood bat. Every bat at Big Lumber Baseball has the ink dot test on it, and each bat will pass the test in the big leagues. Now you just have to put in the work to get there.
Bats made of maple are typically the strongest wood bats available. Likewise, maple bats that pass the ink dot test ensure that you’re getting the best pop you can get out of your wood bat. Every bat at Big Lumber Baseball has the ink dot test on it, and each bat will pass the test in the big leagues. Now you just have to put in the work to get there.