Not all wood is created equal.

Two bats can look alike on the rack and play nothing alike, because it is the wood inside that counts. A lot of the wood bats on big sporting-goods shelves are built to a price from lower grades of wood, and they usually don’t last as long. Spending a little more on a bat from a maker that picks its own wood, checks the grain and tells you the grade, makers like Sam Bat and MaxBat, usually gets you a bat that plays better and holds up longer. One good bat often costs less than two that break.