Baseball/softball bat grip

Abstract

A bat for use in baseball or softball comprises a knob, a gripping area, a transition area and a hitting area, the gripping area having a cross-section shape selected from the group consisting of an ellipse and an oval.

What is claimed:  
     
         1 . A bat for use in baseball or softball comprising a knob, a gripping area, a transition area, and a hitting area, the gripping area having a cross-section shape selected from the group consisting of an ellipse and an oval.  
     
     
         2 . The bat of  claim 1  wherein the cross-section comprises an ellipse wherein the distance between focal points is at least 5% of a largest dimension of the cross-section.  
     
     
         3 . The bat of  claim 1  wherein the cross-section comprises an ellipse wherein the distance between focal points is at least 5% of the largest dimension of the cross-section and less then 60% of the largest dimension of the cross-section.  
     
     
         4 . The bat of  claim 1  wherein the cross-section comprises an oval wherein the ratio of the distance between a largest dimension of the cross-section and a shortest dimension of the cross-section is at least 1.05.  
     
     
         5 . The bat of  claim 1  wherein the bat comprises wood.  
     
     
         6 . The bat of  claim 2  wherein the bat consists of wood.  
     
     
         7 . The bat of  claim 3  wherein the bat comprises wood.  
     
     
         8 . The bat of  claim 2  wherein the bat consists essentially of wood.  
     
     
         9 . The bat of  claim 2  wherein the bat consists of a single block of wood.  
     
     
         10 . The bat of  claim 5  wherein grain in the wood is aligned with a longest dimension of the ellipse or oval.  
     
     
         11 . The bat of  claim 6  wherein grain in the wood is aligned with a longest dimension of the ellipse.  
     
     
         12 . The bat of  claim 5  wherein a longest dimension of the oval or ellipse is oriented within ±25° of the grain alignment.  
     
     
         13 . The bat of  claim 6  wherein a longest dimension of the oval or ellipse is oriented within ±250 of the grain alignment.  
     
     
         14 . The bat of  claim 5  wherein a longest dimension of the oval or ellipse is oriented within ±150 of the grain alignment.  
     
     
         15 . The bat of  claim 6  wherein a longest dimension of the oval or ellipse is oriented within ±150 of the grain alignment.  
     
     
         16 . The bat of  claim 7  wherein a longest dimension of the oval or ellipse is oriented within ±100 of the grain alignment.  
     
     
         18 . The bat of  claim 8  wherein a longest dimension of the oval or ellipse is oriented within ±100 of the grain alignment.