Interesting. What is the science by the bat companies that make bats with a hollowed out end ur is there none? I also think you are making an assumption about how the bats are caulked. I am not certain but I thought that they only caulk the bats at the end and not all the way to the sweet spot. Wouldn’t where the caulking was placed make a difference?
Going the legal route of a lighter bat without the caulk would reduce the surface area for hitting the ball. Hollowing out the bat and filling it with lighter material makes the bat lighter without altering it's surface area. Lighter bats equal faster bat speed resulting in additional distance, not to mention the trampoline effect of the cork in the barrel.
The Laws of physics are immutable. It is science. There are no anomalies. Statistics when applied to human performance is not the same type of science. Compared to physics, statistics in baseball might as well be voodoo.
On August 19, 1978, the Red Sox were up 7 games in the loss column and anf they played to a tie at the end of game 162. The Sox are up 10 in the loss column, so the Yankees are dead.
Exactly my point as you stated "with a shift on the pitcher punishes the hitter inside". The shift takes away part of the plate -- the outside portion -- if the pitcher is going to pitch to the shift. Most of the great pitchers live on the outside half of the plate.