Wooden vs. Aluminum Baseball Bats

Baseball Bats today come in many different varieties, from the standard $20 wooden bat to a state-of-the-art, $300 aluminum model (Sports-werd.com, 2002). Each type of bat has its own advantages and disadvantages, and each has a unique feel and sound. On both the college level and professional levels of baseball, the types of bats allowed vary in material. Yet, while the baseball bats may differ, there are still many similarities that make both aluminum and wooden bats comparable in the world of baseball.

Baseball bats in the first phase came in varying shapes and sizes. In the 1850's, players made their own bats and experimented with different lengths and mass. Due to the wide variety of bat size, and thus the wide differences in batting ability, a rule was made in 1859 that bats could be no larger than 2.5 inches around. A rule to limit the length of the bat to 42 inches was enacted in 1869. This rule still applies today (Baseball-bats.net, 2003).

In 1884, one of the most famous bats was developed, and is still one of the most famous names in baseball bats today, The Louisville Slugger. While watching a Louisville player named Pete Browning break his favorite bat and become frustrated, 17-year-old John Hillerich wanted to help. Hillerich worked as a woodworker with his father. He approached Browning and offered to make him a new bat. Browning accepted, and together they selected the piece of white ash for the bat material. Browning went three for three the next day, and demand for the bat quickly grew (Baseball-bat.net, 2003).

Until the 1920's, most bats were made of white ash wood. In 1924, however, a patent was issued to William Shroyer for the first metal baseball bat (Baseball-bat.net, 2003). While used somewhat, the new metal bats were not seen on a national level until the first aluminum bat of 1970, produced by the Worth company (Sports-wired.com, 2002). From their one-piece aluminum bat to the stronger grade aluminum of the Easton bat in the late 1970's, the aluminum bat began to gain popularity (Mitsuda, 2002). Most recently, Titanium bats were introduced in 1993, and in 1995, the Easton company created the lightest grade aluminum bats to date (Baseball-bat.net, 2003).

Although aluminum bats are very popular, as are white ash, a single incident introduced yet another type of popular bat. In the 2001 professional baseball season, Barry Bonds hit a record 73 home runs in a single season. It was soon discovered that Bonds was using a maple wood bat, rather than the standard white ash bat. As other players tried the bat, sales soared, and a new rage in bats was born (Baseball-bat.net, 2003).

The debate over which type of bat is better has raged since the introduction of the aluminum bat. Currently, the NCAA uses only aluminum bats (Kelly, 2000), while the professional leagues use only wooden bats (Baseball-bat.net, 2002). While some tout the safety of the wooden bat (Kelly, 2002), others point to evidence of increased performance of the aluminum bat (Crisco, Greenwood, 2000). Yet both types have distinct attributes that make them equally unique and equally reliable.

The wooden bat of today resembles the wooden bats of 100 years ago. The largest change is that of the type of wood. Early bats used hickory for the bat material, while modern bats use ash and maple as well (Conley, et al., 1997). Each type of wood has its own advantages and disadvantages.

White ash is used because of its inflexibility, sturdiness, force, weight and "feel." Lighter bats are easier to swing, and thus result in a faster swing. Maple bats have become popular in recent years, as well. Maple bats cost more than white ash, but they often last longer because of their high strength. Hickory bats, while used in the early years, are almost non-existent in the professional leagues of today. Hickory, while strong and extremely hard, is also extremely heavy. Hickory baseball bats weigh too much for most ball players to successfully swing (Baseball-bats.net, 2002).

Aluminum bats, on the other hand, are lighter and stronger than wooden bats. The technology put into aluminum bats has increased dramatically over the years, creating bats of aircraft grade aluminum and stronger alloys. Most recently, the introduction of the double-wall and carbon fiber bats, and bats that use a "cryogenic" manufacturing process have further increased the ability of the material (Baseball-bats.net, 2003).

Because the aluminum bat is lighter than the wood bat, using the aluminum bat means the player has more control over his or her swing, which has advantages. Adjusting the swing in relation to the pitch is easier when more time can be given. Once a wooden bat is swinging, adjustments to that swing are difficult (Calder, 2000).

According to research done by Keith Keonig of Mississippi State University's Aerospace department, there is a large correlation between swing speed and the weight of the bat. "We've found a fairly noticeable difference in the swing speed for the heavier bats," Koenig stated, after being commissioned by the NCAA to test this relationship. His studies found swing speeds of around 65 miles-per-hour for 28- ounce bats and about 63 mph for those weighing 30 ounces.

According to the research, even this slight reduction can vastly increase a pitcher's ability to react to a ball hit in their direction (Koenig, 1999).

On the other hand, because the wooden bat is heavier, it has less "recoil": This means that a wooden bat moving at the same speed as an aluminum bat will hit the ball with more force, and thus will hit the ball farther. In addition, a wooden bat does not vibrate as much in the player's hands, which is far better for a player's wrist and hand joints over long periods (Calder, 2000).

Another major difference is that wooden bats are solid, while most aluminum bats are hollow. This means that, for a wood bat, if the manufacturer wants to make the bat longer or fatter, the bat must be heavier, which might be a disadvantage. For aluminum, compensation for length or diameter can be made by making the aluminum shell thinner. Without having to add weight, the balance of the aluminum bat can be maintained without added burden, which is a definite advantage for aluminum (Nathan, 2002).

Another consequence of the solid wood bat is that the center of gravity is further from the hands, since most of the weight is in the barrel of the bat. For an aluminum bat, because it is a thin shell, the weight is more evenly distributed and less concentrated in the barrel, and thus has a balance point nearer to the hands. Therefore, a batter can often get a higher bat speed with an aluminum bat than for a wood bat of comparable weight and dimensions (Nathan, 2002). Therefore, the aluminum bat can significantly outperform wooden bats.

This was verified by a study done by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in 2002. In the study, seven bat models were tested by 19 right-handed players of varying skill level. The bats and the balls were marked with tape that could be sensed by infrared cameras placed around home plate. Motion capture software was used to record and analyze the swings with various bats, as well as the properties of the balls (Crisco, et. al, 2002).

The average speed of a hit off the fastest bat tested, an aluminum bat, was 93.3 mph. The slowest bat, a wooden model, had an average hit speed of 86.1 mph. Hits made with the wooden bats exceeded 100 mph only 2% of the time, compared to 37% of the hits with the fastest metal bat (ScienceDaily, 2002).

Conclusions based on this data included that higher batted ball speeds could be achieved with a metal bat, due to faster swing speeds. In addition, faster ball speed could be due to the greater elastic properties found in aluminum bats (Crisco, et. al, 2002). The research concluded that, due to consistent weight and dimensions, metal baseball bats can significantly do better than wooden bats

However, the consistent distribution of weight for an aluminum bat also has a downside. Because there is less weight on the wide part of an aluminum bat than for a wood bat, the bat produces a less effective collision with the ball. The ball will leave the bat faster for a heavy bat than for a light bat. Thought an aluminum bat may weight the same as a wood bat, the propelling of the ball from the bat when swinging depends on the weight of the impact point on the bat. A typical aluminum bat has less weight in the barrel than a typical wood bat and is therefore less effective (Nathan, 2002).

Aside from the effectiveness of the bat, there are other differences. Wooden bats, for example, are more likely to break upon impact with a ball near the middle of the bat (Russel, 2003). Bats usually break near the handle, where the diameter is smallest. This is again due to the inflexibility of the wooden bat. A wooden bat actually bends and bows during a swing, then snaps back into place. Pitchers used to dealing with wooden bats may also purposely throw pitches inside to make the batter hit the ball on the thin handle and break the bat. A bat is also more likely to break in cold weather, when the wood is dryer and more brittle (Sillery, 2003). In fact, professional players go through an average of several dozen bats each during a single baseball season (Patton, 1990). Conversely, college teams using mostly aluminum bats, use an average of 12 bats per season (Russel, 2003).

While the argument over which type of bat is better continues, the most heated discussion in the debate is that of safety. With the added ball speed of the aluminum bat comes a greater danger to the defensive players on the field. Defenders of the wooden bat point to the statistics. Studies indicate that balls travel at a maximum speed of 93 mph off a wooden bat swung by an adult, whereas a ball travels at speeds of 100-123 mph off an aluminum bat. The pitcher, on the other hand, has only four tenths of a second to raise his glove for protection from an oncoming ball. A ball traveling more than 94 mph reaches the mound in three tenths of a second. The result, obviously, is that balls hit with an aluminum bat are more likely to strike the pitcher (The Inside Curve, 2003). Between 1991 and 2001, 17 players were killed by batted balls in amateur and pro-play. Of those 17, two were killed by a ball hit from a wooden bat, 15 were killed by a ball off an aluminum bat (CBS, 2003).

The NCAA has consistently refused to switch permanently to wooden bats. According to them, "there are risks in all sports and that pitchers and infielders are aware of those risks" (Bloomberg, 1998). However, the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee did decide, in 1998, to "prohibit the development and use of an aluminum bat that produces a batted ball speed of over 93 miles per hour (Kelly, 2000). The National Federation of State High School Associations followed in 2003, creating the same mandate for high school leagues, adding that an aluminum bat must now have a minus-3 weight-to-length ratio. For example, if a bat is 33 inches long, it must weight at least 30 ounces (Garcia, 2003).

Manufacturers have found a way around the rules, however. A study by the University of Massachusetts found that it is possible to actually change the center of swing gravity with an aluminum bat. This center of gravity change allows the bat to meet bat standards in testing but exceed the ball exit speed regulation in the field (Kelly, 2000).

Major league baseball, however, stands firm on its use of wooden bats. "Our coaches like to use wood because wood really teaches you how to hit," said William Cebron, a member of a professional team. According to Cebron, if you hit the ball on the end of the bat with wood, the bat's going to break, so you have to hit solid and get the head of the bat on the ball, whereas with aluminum you can get hit on the end and still get a hit (Kelly, 2000).

One major problem with college and professional baseball player's use of different bats is that the use of the aluminum bats in college is felt by professional baseball to hamper the advance of hitters and pitchers abilities. For pitchers, pitching to a wooden bat leads to learning to pitch inside, because they can break the bat. When pitching to aluminum, they have to throw more breaking pitches to counteract the aluminum, which stresses their arms more, and discourages development of a fastball pitch, crucial to professional baseball (Prospect Watch, 2003).

From a batters standpoint, the aluminum bats are lighter, which make it easier to hit a pitch well using aluminum. Over the last five years, batting averages and home runs have all increased in the NCAA. Batting averages increased to.301 (from an average of.296 over the previous 15 years). Home Runs went from.80 to.91 per game (Kelly, 2000). When these same players are drafted into professional baseball, their batting average may be far less, due to the change to a wooden bat (Prospect Watch, 2003).

One example of this is Marshal McDougall, who was a second baseman at Florida State University. In 1999, McDougall hit six home runs and collected 25 total bases in a game against the University of Maryland, all with an aluminum bat. These were NCAA records at the time (Kelly, 2000). McDougall had a.419 batting average and record 28 homeruns that same year. Yet in McDougall's first summer of minor-league baseball, he struggled to maintain that average. Using a wooden bat, he was able to produce.248 batting average and one home run, far less than his average with an aluminum bat (Kelly, 2000).