Aluminum baseball bats are a fixture in baseball leagues around the country, except for professional leagues where bats must be all wood. According to Dr. Daniel A. Russell of Kettering University, aluminum bats were introduced in the mid-1970s for better performance and to save money. Aluminum bats are much more durable than wood and need to be replaced far less frequently. The problem with aluminum bats is that they are more dangerous than wood and can result in serious injury, especially as players get older, and size and strength increase.
Features
What makes an aluminum bat more dangerous than a wooden bat is what is known as the "trampoline effect." When the baseball hits a wooden bat, it is compressed to almost half its regular diameter. An aluminum bat is hollow, so the ball is not compressed as much, but the barrel of the bat is. The ball loses less energy in the collision than with a wood bat and the ball leaves the bat at a faster rate of speed, explains Russell. Infielders and especially pitchers have less reaction time, and are struck with the ball more often.
Heart Injury
A baseball hitting a player in the chest at a high rate of speed from an aluminum bat has the potential to cause severe damage. In 2006, a 12-year-old named Stephen Domalewski was hit in the chest by a line drive off an aluminum bat. His heart stopped on the field, and although it was started again, he ended up in a coma and suffered permanent brain damage as a result. It is estimated his brain went without oxygen for 15 to 20 minutes, which resulted in the damage, reports Fox News.
Head Injury
The head is perhaps the most vulnerable area when it comes to aluminum bats. Players may not have time to get their glove up to shield the head when a line drive is hit at a high rate of speed. A pitcher is especially vulnerable, as his body is often in a poor fielding position after delivering the pitch. Brain damage is a possibility when being hit in the head, as is a cracked skull or varying degrees of bruises and contusions.
Death
In July 2003 in Montana, 18-year old pitcher Brandon Patch was struck in the left temple by a line drive hit off an aluminum bat. He died a few hours later in hospital. While death from a baseball hit off any type of bat is extremely rare, it is a real possibility. The family of Brandon Patch sued the makers of the bat that hit the ball that killed him, stating there should have been some type of warning as to the dangers. They were awarded an $850,000 settlement in 2009, according to a Fox News report.
Rules
The NCAA and many other baseball associations and organizations have rules that govern non-wood bats, including aluminum. One such rule is known as the "minus 3" rule and is designed to limit the performance or speed at which the ball comes off the bat. The rule states that the weight of the bat cannot be greater than three digits less than the length of the bat. As an example, a 31 oz. bat can be no longer than 34 inches. The NCAA also requires that no aluminum bat be longer than 36 -inches or 2 5/8 inches in diameter.
References
- "The New York Times: Metal Bats Are an Issue of Life and Death; Ira Berkow; July 2006
- Fox News: Montana Jury Awards $850,000 in Aluminum Bat Lawsuit; October 28, 2009
- Fox News: Family Files Lawsuit in Metal Baseball Bat Injury Case, Associated Press; May 19, 2008
- Kettering University: Why Aluminum Bats Can Perform Better than Wood Bats; Daniel A Russell, Ph.D.
- NCAA.org: Nathional Athletic Association Collegiate Standard for Testing Baseball Bat Performance; May 2009
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