Louisville Slugger MLB Prime C243 Maple Wood Baseball Bat (-1) The C243, the original large barrel bat, is made in this variation with a natural high-gloss finish and red and blue branding As aluminum bats became a part of the game, the demand for large-barreled, thin-handled bats led to the popularity of the C243 Every large barrel turning model since has been a slight modification from this model All MLB PRIME bats are made exclusively with the MLB grade wood, a standard met by only 3% of our wood Features EXOARMOR, a revolutionary finish that is twice the hardness of a regular bat