It’s always been hilarious to me how baseball diamonds almost always seem to be facing a road or area where cars are parked. It never fails

"apparently that video went viral in the carpenter community" that had me dying Will

I think to really make sure you control for all variables, you have to have a single blind test. Have someone completely unaware of the differences between the two, then do the exit velo test. If they know it’s corked, they might swing harder unconsciously.

I remember that corked bat video and now the channel has grown a lot since. Job well done.

I had no idea it was about reducing and transferring the weight! I thought it was all about making the bat more reactive from the hollow section plus cork. Learn something every day!

I love the cut every time Zack screams 😂

I do corking methods for the fungo bats i make. Sometimes i do slits, and sometimes it's round bores with lightweight inserts like yours. The demarini wood composites use carbon fiber instead of cork and it actually increases durability There's 2 ways that wood bats increase ball speed. Hardness and mass. Hardness increases the efficiency of a ball's rebound whereas mass transfers more energy total if the speed decrease is less than the mass increase. A corked bat balances out a bat design, but even if you increase the density to have the same mass or increase the mass to have the same swing weight, this kills any amount of endload. Endload bats are more efficient per swing weight than balanced bats. This is an important topic of discussion when it comes to usssa because you can get a balanced drop 5 to feel like an endloaded drop 8, but the drop 8 will be more efficient at the same swing weight (not counting wall thickness and things like that). Wood is the same way. A light endloaded bat is more efficient than a heavy balanced bat. For jacked pro players with enough strength to swing a tree axe, corking is less effective at increasing total power because the speed they gain maybe not be as much as the mass they lose. However, bat speed and control helps you get BETTER hits, so even though you lose power overall, you're more consistent with your power and have more consistent launch angles. It's a complicated topic that comes up frequently with cupping, which can be thought of as a sort of legal method of corking a bat ever so slightly

You could really tell that they were swinging the bat faster because as soon as they switched to the corked bat they were hitting more to left field. That means the bat was meeting the ball sooner than they were expecting it, so a bit in front of the plate instead of directly over the plate. After using it for a bit they began to compensate and then started getting one or two to center field.

The cut half way through the flex grunts is peak comedy

Very interesting seeing it done today. I did this test for a 6th grade science fair project in the late 90s using the base store bought LS wood model because they were so accessible and affordable then. I had unaltered, cork, super balls, and sawdust filled by a family friend who was a carpenter. My dad and I built a swing machine to guarantee the same swing path to the ball off the tee to guarantee being struck in the same spot. The altered bats were lighter, but nothing outperformed the unaltered bat. With a mechanical swing releasing the same amount of force on each swing, back in the 90s with ash, it only helped as far as reducing weight, not increasing distance. Obviously bat tech and design has advanced a LONG way even in wood, but the density definitely mattered back then. Won the science fair too!

I think what makes corking effective is PERIMETER WEIGHTING. It's a method of taking away weight, but crucially because this weight is reduced from the centre, it stabilises the barrel during contact, effectively creating a larger sweet spot. Look up Perimeter weighting. It is used a lot in golf club design.

I really appreciate the alternation of each person hitting the bat! Subtle change but takes significant care to make that decision in editing! Great job baseball bat bros!

Yo! Got an idea for you guys. Have you seen the puck knob wood bats some pro players have been using lately? I believe Dovetail bats and maybe marucci have them available for retail sale. It's supposed to improve bat speed and makes the bat an extra couple inches. Would like to see you guys try them out.

Use this comment as a call button for "Smarter Every Day"

What got me was seeing how much more flat the trajectory on the corked is before it falls off. Like the tiger I's short 88 versus the long 88 on the tiger ii, the round is just going so so much faster, and it's so cool to see it happen with a baseball.

You guys should do one with corked metal bats. We had a bat in HS the end cap came off of and found it to be hollow with some light foam. So, we decided to pull the foam pack it with, if I remember right, tennis balls as tight as we could and used cement glue to place the end cap back on. I used the bat in batting practice the next day and hit 10 HRs in a row. One of teammate asked me to use in a game, so I did and hit a pitch low and away that would normally have resulted in pop out and I ended up going yard. Told the guys we can't use this anymore in games or we are going to be done. I'd be curious to see if it still works with today's bats.

The first video that might have led me to your channel was a review of the Baum bat back in Summer 2020. Crazy how much your channel has grown since then!

I always love a new baseball bat bros upload also I remember that old vid. Your videos have helped me so much pick out my BBCOR bats. Boutta buy some merch too love the channel and keep it going

I feel like if you compressed the cork, you'd get a pressurized effect that can increase the pop. I would like to see more experiments around this like: seeing how wide of a bore you can get with a carbon fiber tube insert, maybe also pressurized with air, thin titanium tube insert.

Never gonna get used to seeing birch bats. Makes me feel old

You know it’s gonna be a good day when will uploads. Keep up the great content!!!

Glad y'all redid this test! Thanks for the time y'all put into it.

Much love and respect guys keep up the hard work

Immediately thought of Sosa when I saw the title haha. Great video as per usual. You guys ever thought of doing a bp sesh with subs type of thing? I played ball in Utah and now live in Oregon. Would be cool haha. Just throwing it out there. Keep up the great content!

I will make sure to try this in my next organized game 😊

This is awesome!! Thank you for this

Dope Vids guys. I'd really like to see a comparo between the BatSmith FT23 and the Victus Tatis23. Curious how the two models of the same bat would fare against each other. Would make for an awesome shootout! Just a thought. Keep em coming y'all!!!!!

Hey Ridgefield Spudders! I don't live too far from here! I remember when they were still building this complex, glad it looks so nice!

Would be cool to see you team up with either SmarterEveryDay or The Slow Mo Guys to use their high speed cameras to see if you can see the bat flexing in slow motion. If you can see a difference between the corked and normal bat and to see a metal bat and any other variations you have.

I came across this channel because of that original video now I am seeing this one (granted 6 months after it came out) kinda surprising that it makes a big difference at least in this one video.

I have corked quite a few the right way myself and I feel like it depends on the original wood because I don’t like the way my corked maples feel. The ball feels like it flies off the bat but then it doesn’t really carry, pretty similar to a BBCOR bat with an extra 20 or 30 feet maybe

I've always thought the cork was to give the bat more bounce in some way I've never really thought about it as a weight saving thing. I figured if it's packed tight with cork that the cork would help facilitate bounce or possibly the bat being hollow would help facilitate bounce and the cork might help reduce shock to the wood and keep it from breaking as easily. That's how I've always thought about it. Definitely excited to finish watching the video I paused it to write this comment. Maybe try doing a nice cork job like this to a really heavy bat and see if there's a big difference. You'd shave more weight off with a harder wood.

“Apparently that video went viral in the carpenter community” 😂😂😂. Great video guys!

Thank you for the pic at the all American classic

Awesome video! So glad I found this after the original.

Love that wood bat sound at the field!

Love the shirt @ 4:17...S.O. AL CHAMP GUARDS!! (still the tribe like he said tho!) and lovin my guy again @ 5:05 ......"SHOUT OUT STEVEN!!!" Tribe takin out the Yankees tonight!!!!

I am a hockey guy but enjoy watching the different bats you show.

It's super awesome you revisited this again. That's a sub from me.

Awesome video. Thanks for sharing!

HELL YEAH! Rocking the GV Artwork shirt!!!

Love ur vids I just got a cat9 comp a couple months ago but my fav bat is the meta

I think at the start you said something about American Bat Smith having a Wood composite if so you should review it

I’ve got a Rawlings Fungo that was hallowed out from the factory, it was fun to play with when I was coaching!

In the 5th grade, yes 5th, I corked a bat. Step 1, buy every superball your local pharmacy has and use your fingernails to make it into little chips. Step2, drill the bat as seen in this video. Step 3, fill the bat all the way with the superball grains. All the way. Step 4, compress the grains and refill. Step 5, using a wood plug with glue on it, place the whole contraption in a hydraulic press. Add 5 tons of pressure and leave it there until the plug is glued in. Step 6, finish as seen in this video. My older brothers friend used that bat in a preseason game. He was an 8th grader. He checked his swing, accidentally hit the ball, and it went all the way to the warning track. He was so scared that he flung the bat hard into the dugout while running to first. He never used it again because this was in the aluminum bat era around 1989.

Thanks for giving a shout to our Cleveland Guardians! Steven Kwan!!! My man 👊🏻

You can swing a lighter weight bat faster too. Also I think there should be a league that allows all of the illegal stuff. Corked bats, pine tar, anything goes. That would be fun to watch 😂

Cutting out the center of the bat will allow it to oval the barrel slightly on impact (at least compared to the control bat that is denser and more compact in its form) and then the bat will spring back to normal shape adding a bit of extra pop off the bat! Being lighter I don't believe helps with power simply because it will slightly have less follow through power and you can just purchase one that is an ounce lighter, which would end up sacrificing a bit of density to be lighter and distance never goes up with the same hitter! Also, I would imagine cork bats require a lot of impact to see the intended results. Even though the center has been replaced with a less dense material making the spring effect easier to achieve, I believe the impact between bat and ball would have to be extremely high. In conclusion, the harder the bat is swung the more advantageous it becomes IMO!

Bro that first swing that zack took with the corked bat sounded just like a perfect perfect

I've wondered why with all the velo measurements like exit velo, pitch speed, spin rate, etc., why we haven't seen a measurement of bat speed through the zone. That's what seems to be affected here with the reduced mass at the end of the bat, swing speed is increased. The measure every other velocity, why not this one? Great vid, BTW

Cool. Part of my life I thought corking helps and then it was somehow disproven for several years and now we are back to having some pretty good evidence that it works.

wood has a very small degree of flexibility - corking a wood bat increases its flexibility - this flexibility adds distance. Aluminum bats and golf club drivers are very flexible which adds distance.

Bro, that OG Rays hat is 🔥🔥🔥

Such a satisfying sound.

Love the tribe and now we’re in the ALDS let’s keep it rolling

Let's just take a moment to think about how well they throw for these vids...🤣🤣🤣

Do you suppose using an expanding foam like "Great Stuff" would lighten the bat more, and keep the bat strong enough?

Well done Will!

Bro wills hands are so good on his swing… gets the barrel where it needs to be…. Love his swing

hi guys, great vids. thank you for them as i've learned so much. I live in the Tampa area. Where is that facility you're in? I couldn't make out what you said.

That grain orientation on the end plug is doing my head in!! Shoulda been the other way around… Other than that… As a ball fan AND a full time carpenter. I love this. I swung a 33/31 in our mens league, ash bat. It’s insane how much more control you get with a lighter swing weight and shorter bat.

Aye dude rocking the Oreo 5s 🤙🏿

Nice video! What is the purpose of the cork? To hide the hollow bat? Is it the weight or some other phenomena helping?

My buddy's dad corked a bat for us when we were like 10 playing in the back field. We spent more time looking for the balls in the woods than playing.

That corked bat sounds SICK! 🤣👌

How about using expandable foam instead of cork? Will it work the same or better?

I use American batsmith i love it 👍🏻

The on the field testing you could easily see the difference. You guys got good swings and contact on all the ABs you showed. Control bat, anything without a “good” launch angle stayed in the yard. Cork bat, anything with solid contact was gone, launch angles were all over the place but the ball still got out.

hey man how you doing? I need your help, can you test the difference between BAUM BAT & KR3, what is the best composite bat? I would like to buy one of them. thank you so much, you are the best!!!

Corking a bat isn't about removing weight, its about creating bounce and a higher exit velocity. I'd beat you're not swinging any faster (in any significant way anyway) but the base is leaving the bat far faster. Its like in golf a driver is limited to a "smash factor" of 1.5. Drivers can be made to have a 2.0 smash factor at the same weight and user swing speed,.. the face is hotter.

It's such a different sound profile, I feel like you gain some advantage because you were going yard with the reg bat. It's just like warming up with a weight ring before batting.

The ALBIN aluminum alloy AX05 BESR bat was ridiculous in 2011, under the radar bat but it smacks

I’ve got a 2009 Easton stealth cnt sc900 y’all can test again some newer and older bats

I've watched both vids and some of the comments on that first one really were unnecessarily shitty. Have always been curious about this subject, so appreciate the effort to demonstrate how much of an advantage a corked bat actually is.

Awesome as always, but, ready to see if the '23 Omaha might be worth making a change for!

Very interesting. What about the energy going into the ball at contact. Would a heavy bat at the exactly same speed enact more energy? I would think so. What about variations in the hardness of the wood itself? What actually exerts the most energy on the ball. It probably has more to do with the person swinging the bat.... (Disclaimer,,, I know nothing about baseball.)

love the Steven Kwan shoutout...go Tribe!

I am not a baseball fan and have never in my Life heard of corking, but this video makes me wanna play baseball this is just fun as fuck I wanna hit a baseball right now

Watching another video/channel...saw a bat bros video notification and IMMEDIATELY clicked on it! #notdisappointed

👍From this day forward you will be known as "Will the Legend". May your tankard always be full and the tail never end. You lucky sob you 😉Rock on man🤘😎

killing the sponginess of the cork with the glue. Almost got it right this time. 🤣

Damn, you start hitting at ridgefield right after I move north? Wild 😪

Hahaha I didn't expect to see my comment from the last video in this video! Awesome job revisting this!

Your videos are great I love watching you swing do a video on aria slidding mits please?

You need to try the camwood European beech bats. They are claiming alot with them.

if i remember correctly, mythbusters did an episode on corked bats and i think MLB censored the episode and told them not to show them the process on making corked bats... hope that was only for show and not a legitimate thing

I still dont understand why they use dried bottle cork. In the 80's we used Renia's Cork Filler for soles that came in tin jars that was soft and pliable and packed it in. It would expand when dried. This is how most of the pro's did it in the 80's. At least the ones I knew of. But this is a much better test than the last one.

True temper dynamic bbcor bat review

I do wonder if there's any placebo effect going on. I doubt it but still being told it's corked vs normal may be making a difference for how hard they're swinging.

Love ur videos

what if you drilled it the same but filled it with a foam which you let expand, then cap it normally like here? maybe even lighter and possibly still structurally sound?

My dad made a lead plugged bat for play in his rec-league back in the late 70s (got busted and ejected from the game where he got caught). His team was all welders and construction workers. Significant arm and hand strength. Having more weight to push made for some crushing homers for a couple of games. If I'm remembering right, the lead was a bit more than 7 ounces. Your corked bat videos have both been very enjoyable!

Have you tested two identical bats with one ounce removed from one of them via cupping? Seems like it be be the same only it could be legal.

If possible I would grab a 3rd bat and drill 1 oz out and plug it(for structure) with no cork and leave it hallow and compare the hits and exit velo. That will give the definitive answer of is it cork or less barrel weight.

It's amazing how many baseball field outfield fences are so close to either a parking lot or a road ... never understood the logic behind that !

You might not have many mechanical or carpentry skills but we're here to see you hit dingers and you do that well. Keep them coming.

does a light bat swinging faster send a ball farther than a heavy bat swinging slow?

If I'm not mistaken I remember someone saying for warm up or practice they can use corked bats but when the game starts the corked bats go away not to be used.

As a guy who makes his own wood bats, I always “cork” the fungos I make. Coaches love em..

i love that sound..