What Were Babe Ruth’s Legendary Bats Made Of?

It is often argued that the best equipment doesn’t make the best athlete. But it certainly helps them along. And for one of the premier power hitters of the game, his Louisville Slugger bats were a statement in themselves. We are, of course, speaking of the Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth himself. In all his years in the major leagues, both donning pinstripes and the Red Sox uniform, Babe Ruth had a stellar record for depositing the ball way past the boundary wall. And while to some it may sound slightly exaggerated, Babe Ruth was perhaps the best at doing it.

Babe Ruth was clearly one of the top athletes in Major League Baseball, but his bat was a part of his charisma. Wherever he went, the fear of the Louisville Slugger followed. So indented was his legacy with the bat that it has since carried into the league; with legend as recent as the Derek Jeter, popping pitches from the feared barrel.

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And yet, the bat remains a piece of folklore for a reason. Being crafted from select pieces of timber and being used by the slugger with even more panache, the bats have their place in history secured.

Babe Ruth’s Louisville Slugger

Babe Ruth was famous for using bats much heavier than the convention of the time, with his swing being more powerful than most others in the league back then. Even so, it comes as no surprise that his bats are usually the largest to be used by anyone in the sport.

To extend his tenure at home plate, Ruth likely made his bats lighter as he got older. During his career, he had preferred 34-inch to 36-inch bats. But during the initial stages of his hitting abilities, his bats were likely heavier than any of those used in professional baseball. The heavier bats would’ve weighed anywhere from 35 to 54 ounces, which may go some ways in explaining why Ruth’s swing deposited pitches as far back as it did.