The Effect That "Corking" a Wooden Baseball Bat Has on the Distance Traveled in the Air by a Struck Ball
School Name
Heathwood Hall Episcopal School
Grade Level
9th Grade
Presentation Topic
Engineering
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
A corked bat is believed by many to give a batter an advantage over the pitcher while at bat. This theory was tested by measuring the distance that two identical bats hit the balls before and after being drilled and corked. A skeet shooter was modified to fit this need. Two identical baseball bats of same length that were made by the same company took twenty-five swings on a modified skeet shooter. Each distance the ball traveled away from the tee was recorded and rounded to the nearest inch. A hole three-fourths of an inch in diameter and five inches deep was drilled through the center of the bats. Three wine corks were then pressed down into the hole. Each bat then took twenty-five swings with the distances having been recorded and rounded to the nearest tenth of an inch. The data then showed that the cork did affect the ball by hitting it 7.3% farther than the uncorked bats.
Recommended Citation
Dawkins, Lamar W. and Ashcraft, Cam E., "The Effect That "Corking" a Wooden Baseball Bat Has on the Distance Traveled in the Air by a Struck Ball" (2015). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 277.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2015/all/277
Start Date
4-11-2015 3:15 PM
End Date
4-11-2015 3:30 PM
The Effect That "Corking" a Wooden Baseball Bat Has on the Distance Traveled in the Air by a Struck Ball
A corked bat is believed by many to give a batter an advantage over the pitcher while at bat. This theory was tested by measuring the distance that two identical bats hit the balls before and after being drilled and corked. A skeet shooter was modified to fit this need. Two identical baseball bats of same length that were made by the same company took twenty-five swings on a modified skeet shooter. Each distance the ball traveled away from the tee was recorded and rounded to the nearest inch. A hole three-fourths of an inch in diameter and five inches deep was drilled through the center of the bats. Three wine corks were then pressed down into the hole. Each bat then took twenty-five swings with the distances having been recorded and rounded to the nearest tenth of an inch. The data then showed that the cork did affect the ball by hitting it 7.3% farther than the uncorked bats.
