Softball Hitting Tips: Aluminum Vs. Wooden Bats

The difference between aluminum and wooden bats in terms of performance is clear enough

. However, theres still a great debate about which of the two types of bats should softball and baseball players use.

If youre confused as to which type of bat you should use, then I recommend that you read this article. Ill show you the pros and the cons of using aluminum or wooden bats.

Bat Weight

Lets begin with the weight. Wooden bats are considerably heavier than aluminum bats. When constructing a wooden bat, theres always a tradeoff between its weight and its performance. If you want it to have a longer sweet spot, you need to build a bigger bat. But on the down side, it could increase the weight of the bat considerably.

Meanwhile, you can make aluminum bats wider without the added weight. All you need to do is to make the aluminum thinner.

A lighter or a heavier bat depends on the preference of the player. For younger players, I definitely would recommend lighter bats to allow them to practice their swing better without the weight of bat taking its toll on them.

Bat Speed

Again, aluminum bats are lighter than traditional wooden bats. Because of this, aluminum bats allow for higher bat speeds than their wooden counterpart.

The higher bat speeds from aluminum bats allow for hitting the ball for a much longer distance. Thus, it is highly favored over wooden bats when it comes to hitting homeruns.

Sweet Spot

Because of its material and construction, aluminum bats have a longer sweet spot than wooden bats. Thats why aluminum bats allow batters to hit the ball more accurately.

Durability

Wooden bats may be rock solid but it cant take on the pressure that aluminum bats can handle. That said, aluminum bats are more durable and are thus less likely to break than wooden bats. So if youre looking for a bat that will last you for years, I recommend you get an aluminum bat.

Safety

This is where most of the controversy between the use of aluminum and wooden bats are centered. While it is already pretty much established that aluminum bats perform better than wooden bats, the safety of its use on the field is being questioned.

Because aluminum bats can hit the ball faster and much farther than wooden bats, some studies show that the resulting high-velocity balls can put defensive players at risk.

Thus, there have been moves made to have the aluminum bat banned from softball and baseball fields.

These are just some of the main differences between how different types of softball bats perform. To summarize, aluminum bats are the way to go if you want a bat that will give you that extra boost in performance without the added weight thats associated with wooden bats.

Also, aluminum bats are great if youre looking for a bat that you can use everyday without risking breaking it. However, you might also want to take into consideration the debate on the safety of using aluminum bats versus wooden bats before making a decision.

by: Marc-Olivier Dagenais

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