Blast from the past - softball bat technology in 1985

This one is for Big Joe. Check out the exciting new softball bat technology available - in 1985! Also interesting to note are the prices and the 'conventional' weight of a bat back them.

New Tidal Wave bat could be splash hit
The Globe and Mail
Monday, July 08, 1985

New York NY -- NEW YORK (Reuter) - Two revolutionary bats - one powered by water and the other a graphite composite - are making their way to the sports market this summer.

That will not come as good news to pitchers, since both bats are intended to give hitters an extra advantage. The first to hit the market is the Tidal Wave, which uses water in its barrel to produce more power. It's been developed by the Spalding Co. of Chicopee, Mass., the oldest U.S. sporting-goods firm, which, ironically, was founded more than a century ago by Hall of Fame pitcher Albert Goodwill Spalding.

The Tidal Wave, an aluminum bat, can increase a batter's hitting distance by up to 10 per cent, says Richard Brandt, a physics professor at New York University and consultant for Spalding.
The conventional-looking 32-ounce bat has a cavity in the barrel. By unscrewing the knob at the bottom of the handle, a batter can add up to six ounces of water.

''As the batter swings, the water rushes up to the sweet spot of the barrel at the moment of impact,'' Brandt says. ''As a result, it gives the batter more power.

''For example, our tests show that a batter who hits a ball 290 feet with a conventional 32-ounce bat could hit the same ball approximately 309 feet while using the Tidal Wave.

''That could mean the difference between a triple and a home run. Over all, the Tidal Wave combines the speed of a lighter bat with the impact of a heavier one, giving a hitter the best of two worlds.''

The Tidal Wave sells for about $48 (U.S.), about double the price of Spalding's average aluminum fastball bats.

Still to be marketed is the graphite composite, which will be distributed on a limited scale this summer. It combines the durability, lighter weight and added distance of aluminum models with the sound and feel of a wooden bat, says Jess Heald, president of the Worth Sports Co. of Tullahoma, Tenn., the company that manufactures the bats.

Graphite tennis racquets and golf clubs have proved popular in recent years. And Heald thinks that graphite fastball and baseball bats will be just as popular.

Although the graphite-composite bat will be distributed only as a fastball bat this summer, Heald says a baseball model with the same features will be introduced next spring.

''The bat already has been approved by the Amateur Softball Association, whose rules govern most of the fastball played in this country,'' he says. ''Right now, we're trying to get approval from Little League and a number of other leagues for the baseball bat.''

Heald says he hopes that the composite baseball bat will be approved by major and minor leagues, which allow only wooden bats.

Spalding has not sought sanction of its water-powered bat from the ASA. Such sanction might be difficult to obtain because ASA rules forbid the use of moving parts.

Brandt concedes the swoosh of moving water in the bat barrel - which can be heard as a batter waggles the bat while awaiting a pitch and then while swinging - can be distracting.

''It can be at first, but I think hitters will get used to it,'' he says. ''And I think they'll be willing to put up with the momentary distraction to get more distance.''