After the 1995 fall season, one dozen wooden bats were purchased to conduct an experiment. The premise for this experiment was that if the players on the Kean College baseball team would train by swinging wood all winter long, then their average and power numbers would increase. For the spring season, the results were significant. The team batting average increased 37 points, from .299 to .336, and the home runs increased by 18, from 26 to 44. The team scored 110 additional runs compared to last season and were ranked sixth in the nation in Division Ill with 9.6 runs per game average. Our slugging percentage also increased from .443 to .526.

      From one season to the next, it is difficult to compare team numbers because there are different players on the team, but all the returning players increased their average and power numbers.

      The background for this experiment came about when a player from the 1994 team worked out on his own all winter with a wooden bat. In his junior year, he hit .339 with only two home runs. His senior year average was .384 with 11 home runs, 37 R.B.I.s and a slugging percentage of .783 which is a tremendous improvement in his numbers. If it worked for one player, the entire team could benefit from this training.

      While growing up playing baseball, my bat was the thick-handled Jackie Robinson or Nellie Fox bat. This bat was used to get good wood' even when I was
jammed on an inside pitch. It would have been helpful to learn that it was more important to generate bat speed in the swing than to swing this heavy club.

      Swinging wood for a period of time will build bat speed in the swing. Using a wood bat requires hitting the ball correctly for the ball to jump oft the bat. The only way the ball jumps oft the bat is if the bat is swung quickly, and the ball is hit on the "sweet" part of the bat. Most wood bats are top heavy and with repeated swinging, it will build bat speed. After training with wood for a concentrated period of time, then swinging an aluminum bat--what a difference! The bat will feel very light, and most players will have increased their bat speed.

       To ensure that the bats would last, all the bats were taped with duct tape from the handle to about 12 inches from the end of the barrel. The duct tape was covered with athletic tape to reinforce the bats. With constant use, including preseason indoor practices by 16 position players, most of the bats lasted through the season. The bats still cracked while the hitters were learning the proper way to swing the bat. Additional duct and athletic tape were applied until the bat handle broke off. At the end of the indoor practice, six of the original 12 bats survived the pounding of thousands of swings and are ready for next season. The cost of this experiment was approximately $20 per wood bat for a total of $240.00.

       Due to the success of this experiment, at the beginning of the '96 fall season,  wood bats were used exclusively. The players will continue to train with wood until ten days prior to the spring Florida trip, and then they will be allowed to swing the aluminum bats. In addition to training with wood, an extensive total body weight lifting program must also be implemented to supplement this program for significant bat speed improvement