Wood bats weigh more than metal bats. Following practice with a wood bat, your aluminum bat will feel like a feather, resulting in a quicker, more controlled swing. This can be dangerous if you have no one else on the field with you.
There have been some cases of people getting injured using wooden bats, too. If someone is standing by the ball and it hits them in the head with enough force to break their skull, that's really bad news. There have also been reports of people passing out after hitting something hard with a wooden bat.
Softball is a fast-moving game, so there's no chance for someone to get hit by a batted ball if they don't come into contact with it. The only time anyone would be at risk from being hit by a ball is if they were standing right next to it!
Since wooden bats are heavier than metal ones, they possess more power when swung. This means they can do more damage if they do go flying off the handle. Someone could easily be hurt if they're not careful where they point their feet when stepping up to the plate.
Hardwood bats are the only type used in professional baseball, while wooden bats can be made of any kind of material.
Aluminum bats, in the end, deliver more power, a faster swing, and a larger sweet spot. In terms of head-to-head competition, aluminum bats outperform wood bats. Wood bats improve batters' technique, approach, and contact, ultimately making the player a better hitter.
The main advantage wood offers over aluminum is its ability to produce a ball hit with greater speed. This is because aluminum bats tend to "mush" under such hits.
Wood also has another major advantage over aluminum: its durability. The ball will not break off of a wood bat; it's just not possible. As for plastic or metal parts that may wear out over time, these can be replaced. But a wood bat will remain unchanged over its life.
Finally, wood is a safer alternative to aluminum. While many young players use aluminum bats because they are light and easy to handle, people old enough to know what they're doing don't usually have problems with them. But there have been cases where adults have had strokes or seizures due to the stress of being hit in the head with a fast ball. None of these cases have been reported as resulting from wood bats, but there are no safety standards for these products so we can't say for sure what damage they might do if used improperly.
Metal bats cannot compete with the unique composition of wood bats and the balance of pop and density. A good hit with a wooden bat will travel quicker and further than a similar hit with a metal bat. This is part of what makes wood bats so effective at contact sports like baseball.
There are several types of wood used in the manufacturing process for baseball bats. The most common type of wood used to make baseball bats is maple. Other popular types of wood include ash, birch, beech, and desert-ash. Each type of wood has its own special qualities that can affect how the bat performs. For example, bats made from maple have more pop than those made from ash because the sugar content in maple allows it to flex more when struck by the ball, which gives the bat more "spring" when swung. Bats made from ash have more weight per square inch than those made from maple or another light wood because ash has more protein than sugar, so it's heavier than maple or another soft wood.
The quality of the wood used to make up the barrel of the bat affects its performance. Bats with solid wood barrels tend to be more expensive than those with hollowed-out barrels. Also, bats with larger barrels and/or thicker walls are more expensive than those with smaller barrels and/or thinner walls.
Why? Because certain metal bats are so light, the bat actually comes to a halt when it makes contact with the ball. Contact with the ball does not inhibit the swing of a wood bat as much as it does with a metal bat since a wood bat has a solid barrel and greater bulk. Therefore, a wood bat is more effective at hitting balls out of the park.
There have been many attempts to develop a metal bat that is acceptable to players and coaches. None have succeeded completely. Metal bats were originally developed for baseball's professional league because they produced more hits than wooden bats. Early baseballs were made from leather which had to be replaced often because it dried out too quickly. The ball became harder as soon as it was hit with a metal bat, thus providing more opportunity for hits.
Little League Baseball requires that all bats be made from wood. However, wood bats are too heavy for little leaguers to handle easily and have caused many injuries. In fact, wood bats are banned in some states where little leaguer's safety is mandated by law.
There have been several deaths due to wood bat injuries over the years. In 1998, an 8-year-old boy in New York State was fatally struck by a wood bat bullet. The case was brought to public attention when it was reported that witnesses saw the child run after the ball into his driveway but didn't report this because they thought he was playing with a gun.
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