writingcyan:
smexy-medic:
tf2memes:
[submitted by Slash]
Actually is there any way to verify this information? Let me know if you guys find anything. I’ll try and do some research when I get home.
I looked up the information on this ages ago; comes with being a perfectionist and an author, I suppose.
The aluminium baseball bat was patented in 1924, but a prototype wasn’t made until 1969. In 1970, Worth Inc. was the first company to introduce an aluminium softball bat, and Easton Sports Inc. made aluminium baseball bats generally available the same year.
The aluminium bat when first marketed was lighter, hit farther, and was more durable than wooden bats, as well as cheaper to produce due to the shrinking supply and inferior quality of the ash wood from which most wooden bats were made. It has never been allowed in Major League Baseball because of concerns that a higher hit-ball velocity will pose a hazard to defensive players, though the empirical evidence isnot conclusive, but has caught on in youth leagues, high school and college baseball.
(In the TF2 universe, it has always been my understanding that RED and BLU, besides fighting over gravel pits on behalf of the Mann brothers, are also offering real-life prototype testing for manufacturers of weapons, hats, and, apparently, sportswear and equipment.)
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Sources:
1. Gmelch, George , “Marketing the Aluminum Bat”.
2. Easton Bats History, webpage article.
3. Aluminum Bats & Injuries, webpage article.
