In the mid-2000s, a Kettering University analysis by Daniel A. Russell attempted to look at the physics of baseball bats and investigate the scientific data to support the claim that metal bats perform better than wood bats. That paper reported that there had been surprisingly few scientific studies comparing the bats and that the scientific test results were mixed.
Scientific Evidence
A study published in "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise" concluded that metal bats outperform wood bats. A pitched ball, when hit by a swinging bat, comes off an aluminum bat at a higher speed than a ball hit off a wood bat. A ball traveling faster will also travel farther. It may also give a defensive player less time to catch it. However the study took place in 1997 and 1998, and the Kettering report notes that all of the aluminum bats used in that study would be illegal under today's rules.
Swing Speed
The faster a bat is swung, the faster the ball will come off the bat, and the closer the balance point in a bat is to the handle, the easier the bat is to swing. The balance point in solid wood bats is the same, but that point can be moved closer to the handle in an aluminum bat because those bats are hollow. Shifting the amount of aluminum used at any given place along the bat will change its balance point.
Trampoline Effect
When a ball hits a bat, the ball compresses. That compression is more when it hits a wood bat than an aluminum bat because wood is harder and less flexible than aluminum. When a ball hits a bat, an aluminum bat will compress more than a wood bat. Because of that aluminum bat compression there is, what the Kettering University report calls, a trampoline effect that "really does seem to be partly responsible for improvement in performance of aluminum bats over wood."
Sweet Spot
The term "sweet spot" describes the best place on the bat to hit a ball--the place that produces the most ball speed and the least hand sting. A "Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise" study showed that the sweet spot on both aluminum and wood bats is nearly the same size, but that balls come off an aluminum bat faster whether or not they hit that sweet spot.
Aluminum Bats Weigh Less
The Department of Energy's Ask a Scientist notes that a batter has more control of an aluminum bat because it weighs less than a wooden bat. That gives the hitter a chance to make last-second adjustments. It also allows the batter to swing the bat faster. However, if a player could get a wooden bat moving at the same speed, he may hit the ball harder because the bat "has less recoil" and the ball could go farther. The DOE conclusion is that "the wooden bat has more potential power, but the aluminum bat is easier to use."
Aluminum Bats Seldom Break
Aluminum bats don't break nearly as often as wood bats, which can be a significant financial savings for colleges and high schools. The Kettering research notes that, since wood bats often break on inside pitches, the way the game is played has changed since the introduction of aluminum. Batters can get more hits on inside pitches with aluminum bats, so pitchers aren't pitching to the inside corner of the plate as often as they did in the past.
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