Patent ID: 7878930

Claim:
A bat comprising: an exterior surface having a top end and a bottom end; a barrel portion having a barrel cross-section with a substantially circular perimeter that defines a center point; a longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular to the barrel cross-section and intersecting the barrel cross-section at approximately the center point, the longitudinal axis intersecting the exterior surface only near the top end and near the bottom end and otherwise within the exterior surface; a throat portion having an upper extent and a lower extent, the upper extent being more proximate the top end; an asymmetrically flared handle portion having an upper boundary and a lower boundary, wherein the lower boundary is more proximate the bottom end; the asymmetrically flared handle portion defining a non-circular cross-section that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the non-circular cross-section defining a major axis with a front endpoint and a rear endpoint, wherein the length of the major axis increases continuously, throughout the asymmetrically flared handle portion, from the upper boundary to the lower boundary; and portions of the exterior surface, corresponding to the asymmetrically flared handle portion, define a front edge and a rear edge, the front endpoint coincident with the front edge and the rear endpoint coincident with the rear edge, wherein the distance from the longitudinal axis to the front edge, measured along respective lines perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, is greater than the distance from the longitudinal axis to the rear edge, throughout the asymmetrically flared handle portion.