ej: i've had a bamboo bat that i've used off and on for about 2 years now and so far, no one's complained and i haven't been tossed for it.
it's a beautiful yellow-wood bat, shiny with a fine grain, but actually i'm not crazy about it: it's really hard - harder, surprisingly, than maple - and so it should produce a good pop. but it lacks the whipping action of an ash or even a maple bat - or maybe i'm not strong enough to give it the whip it needs - so i don't get the kind of crack i'd like when i swing. and in the cold weather, it really carries the sting of contact to my hands.
so do i why keep it? because it's surprisingly heavy - heavier than maple - and it's long. the salesman said it was a 33" - the size i prefer - but it's actually closer to a 34. i've used it with modest success against junkball pitchers when i have to slow my swing down (though the older i get, that becomes less of a problem.)
i have some friends in texas who really like them - maybe the warmer weather gives them more whip.
good luck. let me know if someone tosses you for using it. - mike
Last year, I had a conversation with someone re: bamboo. Bamboo is actually a grass, but is considered wood, so they are legal unless the division commissioner bans them for whatever reason.
I would encourage the commissioners to make that decision and post because there are a few guys who are interested in bamboo.
Consider this excerpt from the Homeandhouseguide Internet Web site: "Bamboo is considered to be a very hard wood, even though it is not a wood at all, but a grass. It loses a considerable amount of hardness during processing but the finished result is still a very hard wood. ...''
I don't think the issue is the substance but the composition. Bamboo is inherently "composed" or laminated to form this bat while the more customary wood bats are shaped from one billet. but there are composite ash, maple, whatever , wood bats too. the issue has not been firmly or formally dealt with. I , in my humble opinion, don't care as long as fiberglass, plastic or metal are not used .
Not a bad idea to pick one up for BP, especially in early spring. When I first joined 35's, I bought a bamboo and three different maples. I settled on one maple, and while I agree with Mike the bamboo had more "jump" I just can't get comfortable hitting with it. Can't point to any one thing except "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical" - Yogi Berra.
