I am not a material physicist, but it has to do with altering the bat. I seem to remember that there was an argument made that pine tar hardens as it ages, and could impact performance of the bat, (coefficient of restitution) which is essentially the bat's reaction to contacting the ball. Super-slo-mo at contact shows the barrel bend back, and then spring forward, throwing the ball off the barrel, if you will. The old coaches I had called it the "trampoline effect"...
Guys used to "groove" the handles, taking material away to make the bat more end-heavy, giving it more whip, and increasing C.O.R. Not as well-known as corking, but legal...
Old-school clubhouses would have a large soup bone mounted on the wall, and guysm would work the barrel over it to tighten the grain, hardening the bat. All of that shit went out the window with the decline of ash, and emergence of maple, which is what everyone uses now...
It's common knowledge that rubbing the wood makes it harder.
The throbber learned that in 6th grade after he quit playing baseball.
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The throbber learned that in 6th grade after he quit playing baseball.