# Baseball Bat Sales Rise on Amazon UK **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 10, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173 "2011-08-10T04:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chen019](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f19dbf/32.png) [@Chen019](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chen019)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/1 "2011-08-10T04:58:39Z")
Aluminium bats the most popular. > [@](#): > > Sales for baseball bats on Amazon UK have risen by more than 6000 percent over the past 24 hours,.. > > The most popular bat of choice Tuesday is a 23-inch Rucanor aluminum bat selling for about $28. The item has risen from 6,974 to the 105th most popular sports and leisure item on Amazon UK. The next most popular is a military police baton, which is followed by another five baseball bats ranging in price from $15-$30. > **[Baseball Bat Sales Rise on Amazon UK](https://www.pcworld.com/article/481727/baseball_bat_sales_rise_on_amazon_uk.html)** > > While London riots, Amazon sees a huge spike in baseball bat sales in the United Kingdom. Are they being bought by rioters or concerned citizens? Surely not new MLB fans? ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/2 "2011-08-10T15:47:32Z")
Fools. Buy a cricket bat, just as much weapon and also potentially usable as a sporting good. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/3 "2011-08-10T23:08:58Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > Fools. Buy a cricket bat, just as much weapon and also potentially usable as a sporting good. And easier to explain when the bobbies pull you over. And aluminium bats? They are murder on your hands and make a stupid “clink” rather than a satisfying “crack” when they connect with something hard. Er, like a baseball. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/4 "2011-08-11T02:40:06Z")
I suppose it’s too much to expect that sales of baseballs and gloves are rising too. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/5 "2011-08-11T21:29:37Z")
Does anybody actually _play_ baseball with those things? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/6 "2011-08-11T21:34:50Z")
Can amazon delivery in time to get in on the riot? ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/7 "2011-08-11T21:52:51Z")
23"? That is one wimpy bat. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/8 "2011-08-12T03:31:14Z")
I used to go for a 34", which conveniently put the sweet spot outside my strike zone so any hit was a line drive to the second baseman, but the bat looked baaaad. And meant I didn’t have to run to first. I was an “easy out.” ETA: They are fighting in close quarters where a proper bat would be hard to handle. And know nothing about baseball. OTOH, a modern police baton is so springy and sweet my head could be turned. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/9 "2011-08-12T15:42:45Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > Fools. Buy a cricket bat, just as much weapon and also potentially usable as a sporting good. I wonder if that’s part of the appeal of the baseball bat in this context, though. The rioter thus knows that he’s not facing some unprepared bumbler who just grabbed up a stick out of his closet, but rather someone who is sufficiently hardcore that he planned ahead and specifically bought a weapon. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/10 "2011-08-12T16:15:26Z")
Why aluminum? For hitting a baseball, it makes sense, but for a blunt-force club, a good old hardwood Louisville Slugger would be my first choice- probably in 30 or 32" (shorter, you know, for more maneuverability). ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/11 "2011-08-12T16:22:40Z")
Umm… somehow this seems like a dumb idea on the part of the British law enforcement. Allowing hundreds or even thousands of baseball bats to be imported into the country that doesn’t even play baseball. I would hope there is something they can do to stop this. Sensibly speaking. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/12 "2011-08-12T16:52:46Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Why aluminum? For hitting a baseball, it makes sense, but for a blunt-force club, a good old hardwood Louisville Slugger would be my first choice- probably in 30 or 32" (shorter, you know, for more maneuverability). You still have the chance it’ll break. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/13 "2011-08-12T16:54:49Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > Umm… somehow this seems like a dumb idea on the part of the British law enforcement. Allowing hundreds or even thousands of baseball bats to be imported into the country that doesn’t even play baseball. I would hope there is something they can do to stop this. Sensibly speaking. So then they move on to cricket bats. Or garden scythes. Or machetes. Or 5 cell aluminum flashlights. Or roofing hammers. Can you realistically block everything that’s good for whacking things? Bats, at least, are not particularly easy to conceal. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/14 "2011-08-12T17:08:27Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > So then they move on to cricket bats. Or garden scythes. Or machetes. Or 5 cell aluminum flashlights. Or roofing hammers. Can you realistically block everything that’s good for whacking things? Bats, at least, are not particularly easy to conceal. By this logic you might as well allow guns, because otherwise they’ll use flame throwers. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/15 "2011-08-12T17:15:58Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > By this logic you might as well allow guns, because otherwise they’ll use flame throwers. > > :rolleyes: An aluminum bat is easily replaced by any number of other widely available blunt objects. I would guess your access to flamethrowers is somewhat limited, no? ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/16 "2011-08-12T17:32:33Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > An aluminum bat is easily replaced by any number of other widely available blunt objects. I would guess your access to flamethrowers is somewhat limited, no? What are you saying? Allow aluminum bats into the country because there are just as many other blunt objects available?? Really? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bat-sales-rise-on-amazon-uk/592173/17 "2011-08-12T17:44:36Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > What are you saying? Allow aluminum bats into the country because there are just as many other blunt objects available?? Really? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: I’m saying that your analogy was terrible. Allowing people to buy a baseball bat when there are dozens of widely available perfectly equivalent alternatives is in no way similar to saying people should be able to buy guns because otherwise they’ll use flamethrowers. But go ahead if you want and exaggerate to ridiculous extremes. Be as rude as possible while you do it too, that really helps you look better.