Posted by: Chris O'Leary (chris@chrisoleary.com) on Mon Nov 14 16:46:27 2005

> How do baseballs come off aluminum bats differently from wooden bats? What are the dangers of using aluminum bats in college and high school baseball?

They come off the bat faster and thus fly farther due to the greater rigidity of aluminum. Less energy is absorbed by the bat and thus is transmitted back into the ball. That's why aluminum bats aren't allowed in the pros. Every stadium would have to be redesigned (as golf courses have had to be lengthened due to the introduction of extremely rigid titanium drivers).

Several scientific studies have been done that document that aluminum bats do pose a greater risk of injury to pitchers and fielders. That is why people are recommending that standards be put in place that limit the performance of aluminum bats.

For example, see http://www.npl.uiuc.edu/~a-nathan/pob/

Chris O'Leary