Wooden and aluminum baseball bats are so different it is sometimes hard to grasp that they are used for the same thing. All professional baseball leagues in the United States use wooden bats. However, most amateur leagues still use aluminum bats. The differences between the two include performance, weight and exit speed.
History
According to Daniel Russell of Kettering University, aluminum bats have dominated the youth and adult amateur baseball and softball market since their invention in the early 1970s. Aluminum bats are more durable and, therefore, a cheaper option that lasts longer than wooden models that can break on one swing. Virtually every amateur league and program in the country uses aluminum bats. A few states have considered banning aluminum bats because of their higher exit speeds. Thoughts like those spurred college and amateur leagues to begin setting limits on performance standards in 1998, according to Russell. Meanwhile, wooden bat styles have changed a bit, but performance and specifications have remained just about the same throughout time.
Exit Speed Performance
A Crisco and Greenwald study in 1997-98 found that aluminum bats had a higher batted ball exit speed than wood bats. In this study, the exit speed from a wooden bat averaged almost 99 miles per hour, while aluminum exit speeds averaged between 100 and 107 miles per hour. Russell of Kettering attributes this to four factors: aluminum bats are lighter, aluminum has a trampoline effect, aluminum won't break, and the aluminum bats have wider barrels or "sweet spots" for hitting. In his study, Russell found that aluminum bat exit speeds can cause balls to travel more than 30 feet farther than the same ball hit with a wooden bat. In short, aluminum is much more forgiving for hitters than wood and does enable the ball to be hit farther and harder.
Pros and Cons of Aluminum Bats
The most positive thing about aluminum bats is that they are durable and they last a long time. Aluminum bats usually last for an entire season or longer. As of 2010, they cost anywhere from $150 to $400. According to Russell, most college teams use about 12 aluminum bats per year. Before switching to aluminum colleges used about 60 wooden bats per year. College baseball and high school baseball have put rules in place regarding weight and exit speed performance for aluminum bats. However, because of technology, constant research and development, aluminum bat performance continues to improve each year.
The biggest drawback with aluminum bats is that their exit speed is higher, making them dangerous to players. Even newer models such as composite bats, which are made by mixing graphite, fiberglass and other materials, and hybrid bats, which are half composite and half aluminum, have shown elevated exit speeds when compared to wood. Much of this is attributed to the weight being distributed so that the bats feel lighter and to the trampoline effect in which, according to Russell of Kettering University, an aluminum bat acts like a spring when it hits the ball.
Pros and Cons of Wooden Bats
The biggest positive for wooden bats is that they are considered as a safer alternative. The swing speed is more natural because the weight of the wood can't be technologically altered. The exit speeds for balls leaving wooden bats is lower and, according to Russell, when a ball hits a wooden bat it loses up to 75 percent of its initial energy. The barrel and sweet spot on a wooden bat is smaller and if you don't hit it on the barrel, you're likely to break the bat. With aluminum, because it is so hard, you can still get a solid hit without hitting the ball square on the barrel. The main drawback to wooden bats is the cost because of the potential for the bat breaking. As of 2010, wooden bats cost anywhere from $30 to $100, depending on the type of wood and model. Even for the cheapest models, the cost adds up because of the number of bats that will break during the course of a season.
Future
It is likely that colleges and many amateur leagues will move toward using wooden bats because of safety concerns. Legislation to ban metal bats already has been introduced in California. Aluminum bats are banned in North Dakota and New York City. Because of the revenue generated from aluminum bats, bat companies are likely to fight legislation in court. The use of wooden bats probably won't go all the way to Little League, but for high schools and above it is likely that in the next 10 years all high schools will be using wooden bats.
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