Which is better a wooden baseball bat or a metal baseball bat?

Question

I just wondering what would be the best

Answer 1

Hey I've been in baseball a long time and this a question that I hear constantly. Now one thing to understand is that the bats are not better than the other its what your looking for and your league requirements.
The metal bat is great for a begginer player to intermediate due to that it doesnt take much power to get the ball out of the infield. Also you can get alot more distance with the metal bat due to its design and thats its metal.
The wooden bat is a great bat for tryinh to improve your hitting and for someone who is looking for a challenge. You can still hit the ball just as easy with a metal bat but the ball will not go as far. So before you take up the lumber before the game go to the batting cages and test out your wooden bat and see how you like it. Also to avoid breaking your wooden bat the logos that are engraved in the bat need to be facing your face not where you are going to hit the ball. This is the weak part of the bat and normal the pros when you see them break their bat they hit the ball on that part of the bat.
So try them out and see waht you think.

Answer 2

An aluminum bat has a better "trampoline effect" on the ball, especially some of the high-end, thin-walled alloy bats.

They are also easier to control. You can get a bat with a higher length/weight "drop". For example, a -11 bat weighs 11 ounces less than it is long in inches (a 34" bat that weighs 23 oz.). Wooden bats cannot BEGIN to approach this.

HOWEVER, I recommend that you use a wooden bat in practices to help your mechanics. The problem with the aluminum bats is that they mask a lot of mechanical flaws in a swing. If you have a hitch in your swing, it will be more obvious with a wooden bat and you can eliminate the flaw.

Ultimately it comes down to mechanics, not the bat, that makes a good hitter. Training with a wood bat will help you with that.

Answer 3

Metal is much more durable then wood. Metal bats hit the ball harder then wood does. Most amateur teams use metal so they can save money; it's expensive to consistently replace broken wooden bats.
All professional (major and minor leagues) use wooden bats. One poster talked about increasing the size of pro stadiums if the majors switched to metal but there's another more dangerous issue. The ball comes off of a metal bat much faster then it does with a wooden bat. Major league pitchers are already at enough of a risk of injury from comebackers and line-drives; metal bats would just speed the ball up and cause serious or even fatal injuries. Imagine being a pitcher and facing Pujols, Cabrera or Big Papi with a metal bats. Not safe at all.

Answer 4

Better in what way?

Professional leagues use wooden bats, as to the US summer leagues. A summer league is a semi-professional league for college players.

Metal bats are more durable, and therefor more cost-effective, but both can shatter. Don't believe anyone who tries to tell you that's not possible with a metal bat. They are ignoring the idea of metal fatigue, and they are ignoring the actual history of metal bats. Former Blue Jay, Yankee and Oriole pitcher Jimmy Key can tell you, first hand, that they do break. He was hit in the toe by a piece of a shattered metal bat while in his junior year at Clemson, and not being available to pitch cost him that June, in the draft.

Metal bats can allow you to develop bad hitting habits, as the whole of the is is a "sweet spot". Wooden bats have a specific sweet spot, and ideally, you want the bat to make contact with the ball on that spot.

Answer 5

In terms of power, an aluminum bat will go further, especially if you're bigger or you cheat. Some bats have twist-off ends, and players fill them with water. Centrifical force moves the water from the handle to the barrel, increasing the speed and force behind the swing.

In terms of durability, an aluminum bat will last for years, a wooden bat only days to months, depending on the user.

But if you meant which is better in terms of play, wood has a better feel to it, and the sound of wood on leather, the "crack" of the bat, has a warmth that aluminum's "ping" can't match.

In terms of safety, a wooden bat is far better. US college baseball uses aluminum bats for the sake of cost, and I'm not sure if AAA baseball uses them, but if aluminum were ever to reach the majors, somebody might or will get killed. Pitchers are hurt often enough from come-backers that hit their legs, bodies, or head; imagine what the force of an aluminum bat would do.

Were I a major league pitcher today, I would wear a batting helmet with a face guard, and I wouldn't care if people called me a coward; I would call myself smart. People used to call catchers cowards for wearing face, shin and chest protectors, but nowadays, only an idiot would play without them. Eventually, pitchers will do the same.


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Answer 6

there is a reason major league baseball doesn't use metal bats. some of the line drives coming off them could kill someone. there is a sweetzone on a bat wooden its about an inch and half with metal its about 3 inches. so you can hit the ball harder,farther and have more room for error with metal bats.

Answer 7

Better in what way??

As a player all of the previous statements are accurate. The sweet spot is bigger on an aluminum bat, & the ball will travel farther & quicker.

If you have hopes of playing professionally at any level, wood or composite (in some summer wooden bat leagues) is the way to go.

As a fan tho......I love the sound of a wood bat on a clean base hit....metal will never replace that sweet sound of baseball!!

Answer 8

Aluminum bats will give you more distance and power. They also won't break. Wood bats are not going to give you the same amount of force when you hit the ball, making it more challenging to hit it. The wood bats also have a tendancy to break. I prefer wood bats because of teh challenge.

Answer 9

I prefer metal when i play because with wooden ones you have to buy batting gloves or you'll get blisters and wooden ones are a lot more expensive.

Answer 10

Aluminum bats will allow you to hit farther and the aluminum bat is less likely to bend/break and need to be replaced.

The advantage to wood bats is they are traditional and still required in the major leagues. It was easier to make players use wood bats than it was to build bigger parks.