Wood VS Aluminum Bats

1. The aluminum bat is typically lighter than a wood bat. A lighter bat allows you to swing faster. This gives a batter more time to see a pitch and aim the swing.

2.  Studies have shown that aluminum bats produce a faster ball speed. A wood bat absorbs more of a balls energy at contact, while an aluminum bat "gives" and then "springs" the ball back off of it (trampoline effect). This means an aluminum bat typically would hit farther than a wood bat.

3.  The sweet spot on a wood bat is smaller than on an aluminum bat. It is the spot that gives a powerful clean hit. So the wood bat has less room for error.

4.  A wood bat is more likely to break. An aluminum bat can dent without affecting the bats performance. They also can break, but wood bats break more often.

5.  Typically wood bats are less expensive than aluminum bats.

Wood bats are used in pro baseball and in some colleges. Typically kids use aluminum bats, but most leagues do allow the use of wood bats also.

Aluminum bats came out in 1970. Before then everyone used wood bats. Some people say it's a disadvantage to use an aluminum bat because you may have a harder time with a wood bat when/if you play in leagues that require them.