According to the VN Metallurgy Forum (i.e., Sally): a typical aluminum (alloy) baseball bat used in college/high school weighs about 31–34 ounces. An osmium bat would weigh about 7.3 to 8.9 pounds. Effects on a batter’s swing:
- Swing speed: drastically reduced — inertia makes accelerating the bat/meeting the ball nearly impossible; swing would be much slower and shorter.
- Timing and mechanics: batter would likely choke up, shorten swing, and use body (shoulders/torso) rather than wrists/forearms; normal quick hip-rotation timing breaks down.
- Required strength: force to accelerate scales with mass – would need ~26–30× more force to reach same speed – unrealistic for typical athletes.
- Contact outcome: with same bat speed contact would be virtually immovable — the ball would barely change velocity; the ball would likely dead stop or tiny bounce; bat could crumple or transfer force to batter’s hands/arms.
- Injury risk: much higher — strained muscles, joint injury, severe hand/wrist impact from reaction forces; bat could slip or break, causing injury.