Aluminum bats long have been banned from professional baseball, and they may face the same at other levels. While aluminum bats hit balls faster and farther, they also turn the same balls into speeding bullets that can seriously harm players. Between 1991 and 2001, 15 deaths occurred from balls hit with metal bats, while only two died from balls hit with wood.
Bat Science
A player who can hit a ball 500 feet with a wooden bat could easily hit the same ball 700 feet with an aluminum bat. The reason has to do with something called the trampoline effect. Because aluminum is more elastic than wood, the ball loses less kinetic energy with aluminum than with wood. An aluminum bat deforms when hit, then immediately regains it shape. This "trampolines" the ball outward. Every time a ball hits a wooden bat, the wood is permanently reshaped. It doesn't spring back, and the ball is not trampolined outward. Aluminum bats don't get dings; wooden bats will show dents where the ball was hit.
Major-League Bats
The aluminum bat, introduced in the 1970s, is lighter in weight and allows players to swing faster. That, coupled with the trampoline effect and the strength of professional players, has the potential to turn the bats into lethal weapons. While the aluminum bat makes for easier home runs, it also is dangerous to pitchers and infielders who are most likely to be hit by a ball. To keep the game competitive and avoid injuries, the major leagues have never allowed the aluminum bat and continue to limit bats to wood.
NCAA Baseball
Since the early 21st century, debate has raged on the question of aluminum bats in collegiate baseball. Starting in the 2011 season, aluminum bats must be re-engineered to react more like a wooden bat. Aside from the safety issue, there was concern that the games were becoming "Gorilla Ball" instead of a game of skill. The hope was that the new bats would make the game more of a contest, with pitchers' skills counting for more and brute strength less. Early on, it appeared to have worked. As of January 2011, the new bat had not yet been used in competition, so actual statistics were not yet available. However, during the fall training season, players reported a noticeable drop in home runs in both batting practice and during scrimmage games.
Younger Players
While professional baseball and the NCAA have banned or modified use of the aluminum bat, youth ball still generally allows the bat. However, in 2007, North Dakota became the first state to outlaw the bat after the death of a young pitcher who was hit with a line drive. New York City followed suit, and other states are considering the ban.
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