It’s been 22 years since h.s. ball, but I even had a few calls at ss with smoking shots. Hadn’t been to an MLB game in at least a decade, but saw a Rays game recently and was immediately refreshed in my awe factor of not only the bat speed these men are capable of, but the insane velocity their shots carry not just through the infield, but well beyond. A very ‘heavy’ hit.
I know the topic of alum has been discussed by the powers that be and I would never want to see that, but wonder if there are any former A/AA/AAA ballers in here who would comment on it? I have to believe their would be some fatalities at some point to infielders if aluminum bats were ever allowed. Literally an artillery round fired head high.
I hope they never do it either, can’t imagine someone like Dustin Pedroia who swings big at everything and rips some sick line drives getting that much extra zip from an aluminum bat. In summer collegiate leagues like the Cape Cod League, wood bats are used to help college players get used to the switch from aluminum but the batting averages drop as a result.
i’d be less concerned with a SS getting a line drive to the face and more concerned with a 90yo grandmother or a 5 year old boy in the stands taking a foul ball off an alum bat to the noggin. Given the sport is doing well without alum bats, I think it’s fair to say that introducing bats capable of higher velocity would do more harm than good.
EDIT: not to threadjack, but i think the better question might be ‘why do ANY leagues have aluminum bats at all?’ If my grandfather could swing a wooden bat as a 9yo boy, my son should be strong enough as well, right?
I think the better question might be ‘why do ANY leagues have aluminum bats at all?’ If my grandfather could swing a wooden bat as a 9yo boy, my son should be strong enough as well, right?
Agreed. I think it’s far more likely that aluminum bats will be removed from lower leagues than them being allowed in the major leagues. I don’t think there’s any reason to use aluminum bats after little league personally. Starting in high school–or starting in college at the very latest–they should be using wooden bats.
I don’t think there’s any reason to use aluminum bats** after little league** personally. Starting in high school–or starting in college at the very latest–they should be using wooden bats.
I would even say that there’s no reason to even have them in little league. There are only 2 reasons I can see for aluminum bats at any level.
1.) Weight - the game is more fun for kids when they can actually swing the bat instead of drag it.
2.) Bat stiffness- if an aluminum bat puts greater velocity into a hit, you can actually engage the outfield more often and make the game (again) more fun.
I think if you can make a lighter weight wooden bat that enables faster swing speed, you can eliminate number 2. Frankly I can’t seem to find any info relating to why aluminum bats are better than wood though… although they are definitely better at making cash for companies ($300 for a stick? jesus…)
Every now and then you hear a story about a kid who got nailed by a line-drive off a metal bat, but I doubt those incidents are really enough to sway the entire sport away. Or rather - There just isn’t enough reason to make any changes to how things are.
It’s been ~12 years since I played HS baseball. I was in an sporting goods store the other day and found myself in the baseball section staring at $399 bats with carbon fiber handles trying to figure WTH is going on here.
I frequent Mariners games quite often here in Seattle, and one of my favorite parts of being at the game is coming early to watch batting practice. The “PING” sound from an aluminum bat can never compare to the “CLACK” heard from a wooden bat. And when the roof is closed it echos around for a few seconds (empty seats?!?). Great sound…
**The “PING” sound from an aluminum bat can never compare to the “CLACK” heard from a wooden bat. And when the roof is closed it echos around for a few seconds (empty seats?!?). Great sound… **
Totally agree, you can tell by the sound when someone gets a hold of a pitch just right on the sweet spot of the bat, especially if it’s a good hitter at the plate or in the batting cage.
I frequent Mariners games quite often here in Seattle, and one of my favorite parts of being at the game is coming early to watch batting practice.
When do you hear the sound of wood on a ball at a Mariners game this year (or at least the last three weeks)? I’m laughing (crying) with you, not at you …
A frustrated M’s fan (who will still probably show up for at least two A’s games next week).
It’s been ~12 years since I played HS baseball. I was in an sporting goods store the other day and found myself in the baseball section staring at $399 bats with carbon fiber handles trying to figure WTH is going on here.
I frequent Mariners games quite often here in Seattle, and one of my favorite parts of being at the game is coming early to watch batting practice. The “PING” sound from an aluminum bat can never compare to the “CLACK” heard from a wooden bat. And when the roof is closed it echos around for a few seconds (empty seats?!?). Great sound…
Funny thing is, I have heard the reason LL and HS use aluminum bats is they are cheaper to stock vs. wood. Since you only need, in theory, one bat to get through the season, the overall cost of the team is less. I can’t imagine that holds true w/$400 aluminum bats.
"2.) Bat stiffness- if an aluminum bat puts greater velocity into a hit, you can actually engage the outfield more often and make the game (again) more fun.
I think if you can make a lighter weight wooden bat that enables faster swing speed, you can eliminate number 2. Frankly I can’t seem to find any info relating to why aluminum bats are better than wood though…"
“When a ball hits a wood bat, it compresses to nearly half its original diameter, losing up to 75% of its initial energy to internal friction forces during this compression. In a hollow bat, however, the bat barrel compresses somewhat like a spring, when the ball impacts it. This means that the ball is not compressed as much and therefore loses less energy to internal friction forces. Furthermore, most of the energy temporarily stored in the barrel is returned to the ball, and the energy which is lost in the bat compression is a small fraction of what would have been lost in the ball if it had impacted a wood bat instead.”
I frequent Mariners games quite often here in Seattle, and one of my favorite parts of being at the game is coming early to watch batting practice.
When do you hear the sound of wood on a ball at a Mariners game this year (or at least the last three weeks)? I’m laughing (crying) with you, not at you …
A frustrated M’s fan (who will still probably show up for at least two A’s games next week).
Dan
Whoa. Never said I was an M’s fan! I’m just a Texan who currently works at the USCG base just across from the stadiums. I love baseball and SAFECO is such a great ballpark that I find myself going there quite often after the work day. $7 tickets and a good standing room spot in “The Pen” is a great deal for anyone who doesn’t need to bring kids to the game. And like I said, batting practice is where it’s at if you like the sound of a well hit ball.
Isn’t the reason so many MLB players use maple bats that they’re significantly harder than ash bats and result in more velocity on hits. Of course there’s the nasty side effect of bat explosions and shrapnel.
“Isn’t the reason so many MLB players use maple bats that they’re significantly harder than ash bats and result in more velocity on hits.”
MLB commissioned the Baseball Research Center at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell to study maple vs. ash. They found no differences between the two in batted ball velocity. The current popularity of maple bats can be traced to Barry Bonds using maple Sam Bats to hit 73 HRs in 2001.
If I remember correctly, HS and College ball is, or has now definitively, moved to the use of BBCOR alu bats to both combat the ridiculous speed of the ball off the bat and to provide players with a more ‘realistic’ experience. As a side effect of the BBCOR movement, batting average, slugging pct, etc. have gone down and you’re seeing a closer estimation of a ball players stats if/when they join the pro ranks.
If I remember correctly, HS and College ball is, or has now definitively, moved to the use of BBCOR alu bats to both combat the ridiculous speed of the ball off the bat and to provide players with a more ‘realistic’ experience. As a side effect of the BBCOR movement, batting average, slugging pct, etc. have gone down and you’re seeing a closer estimation of a ball players stats if/when they join the pro ranks.
College made the change this year, and high school changes for the 2012 season. It definitely had an impact - compared to 2010, home runs in college ball were down this year about 50%, and down almost 75% in the College World Series. Little League baseball also adopted changes to bat specs a couple of years ago. Similar changes in bats are in the works or have been already adopted for fastpitch softball, I think.
In addition to bats having higher performance when new, what also happened with the composite bats is that they would get “hotter” as they were used. The lamination between the layers starts to break down, which results in a greater trampoline effect that sends the ball even faster. And some players who didn’t want to wait for this delamination to happen from use would supposedly roll or press the bat under pressure in order to break down the lamination more quickly.