Which tree species is the traditional source of wood for baseball bats?

Which tree species is the traditional source of wood for baseball bats? The answer is northern white ash (Fraxinus americana).

Northern white ash has long been valued for baseball bats because its wood is strong, relatively light, straight-grained, and able to flex slightly while absorbing impact. Those properties also made it useful for tool handles, furniture, flooring, oars, and other products requiring a good strength-to-weight balance.

The species is native to eastern and central North America, where it grows in forests, floodplains, and upland sites. It is a large deciduous tree with compound leaves and distinctive diamond-patterned bark on older trunks. Its wood is pale, dense, and ring-porous, with visible growth-ring structure.

“Traditional source” does not mean every modern bat is made from white ash. Sugar maple and other woods are also used, while professional baseball has historically relied heavily on ash and maple. Another important modern context is emerald ash borer, an introduced beetle that has killed millions of ash trees across North America and threatened the long-standing supply of suitable bat timber.