Although these regulations apply to bats used in sanctioned MLB games, the same process will be followed for all bats made by B45 regardless of the league or player level. B45 Inc. wants any owner of a Northern Québec Yellow Birch Bat to be assured he is receiving the highest quality. For B45, the new regulations serve to confirm the appropriateness of the high quality standards implemented by the company’s forest engineers since the company’s inception. If you are reading this, you are probably already aware that Yellow Birch is a material that possesses extraordinary physical characteristics. But there is much more done by B45 Inc. to create its bats than simply sourcing ordinary Yellow Birch. In order to increase performance, durability, and safety, B45 always selects the best Yellow Birch coming from the optimal growing areas for that species (e.g., above the 45 parallel where the growth cycle is slower and the wood is denser). And our production processes are performed in a manner that guaranties that the wood fibers are parallel to the bat’s main axis when turning is complete. B45’s strict adherence to these criteria is an important reason why the company has been able to consistently obtain the highest level of bat strength and performance.

How MLB’s Ink Dot Test Should Be Performed and What to Look For
The relationship between the longitudinal axis of a bat and the longitudinal axis of the wood fibers (cells) is known in wood products science as the “slope of grain.” When the two axes are parallel, the slope of grain is said to approach zero and wood strength is maximized. By contrast, when the slope of grain increases, bat strength decreases rapidly.

The measurement of the “slope of grain” should be done on both the radial and tangential sides of the wood. On the radial side, the measurement of the angle is easier because the wood’s annual growth rings are visible to the naked eye. On the tangential side, the examination is more difficult because the grain is not as visible. Accordingly, to make the fibers more visible on both sides, an ink drop is applied. The ink penetrates the wood’s surface and travels by capillaries through the wood’s pores making the axis of the fibers apparent. The angle is then measured on the bat handle at around twelve inches from the knob, which is the most likely location for bat failure. On bats with clear handles (maple and birch), the “ink dot” should make the quality of the grain visible to players.