Presuming that basic assembly is in the 25oz range, isn't it only a matter of final weighting and a knob sticker or am I missing something?
That’s exactly right. All the bats basically come from the same place and use the exact same composite raw materials. The differences are in the amount of add ins, and measurements of thickness of laid composite.
The bat companies then receive the shells, and they go ahead and put the other stuff together; handles, knobs, tuning rods, paint. They also glue everything together; the ASA/USA bats have sleeves or foam inserts glued to the end caps.
As far as the finished weight; they add in ballast to the handle to make the finished weight. There’s a lot of variables in assembly/production, and sometimes the assembly technicians just mislabel bats.
I remember bats with miscellaneous bolts and washers glued to the endcap for added endload. But companies aren’t really doing that anymore.
Yeah, it’s all a grift. Swing a lot of bats and find one that fits your swing.