Patent ID: 8113972

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a baseball bat comprising the steps of: a) drilling a longitudinal hole in a wooden portion of the baseball bat; wherein the wooden portion comprises a gripping portion having a gripping cross sectional area terminating in a handle end, a hitting portion having a hitting cross sectional area greater than the gripping cross sectional area and terminating in a barrel end opposite the handle end, and a connecting portion connecting the gripping portion and the hitting portion; wherein the wooden portion is formed from a single piece of wood; and wherein the longitudinal hole extends an entire length of the bat from the handle end to the barrel end of the wooden portion and has a hole cross sectional area; b) drilling a first widened portion at the handle end of the longitudinal hole; c) drilling a second widened portion at the barrel end of the longitudinal hole; and d) applying a filling material to the longitudinal hole such that the filling material fills the longitudinal hole, at least a portion of the first widened portion, and at least a portion of the second widened portion, the filling material thereby forming a cord in the longitudinal hole, a first plug integral with the cord in the first widened portion, and a second plug integral with the cord in the second widened portion; wherein the filling material is applied to the longitudinal hole at an elevated temperature such that the filling material is molten at the elevated temperature and cools at an ambient temperature to a solid; wherein the filling material is selected such that when the bat breaks upon contact with a pitched baseball, the filling material remains as a single piece and positively contains the wooden portion between the first and second plugs.