ALUMINUM BASEBALL BATS
The progress of technology over the century and a half of official existence of baseball has manifested itself in many ways, penetrating the world of baseball with the use of new fabrics for the suits and shoes, and of course, with the find of ways to improve performance through the use of new materials for the creation of baseball bats. Aluminum alloys which have been used in baseball bats since the 70es have revolutionized the baseball world and in the 30 years of intensive use, have made their mark on the way the game is perceived and played. While professional leagues still don’t accept the use of aluminum bats in competitions, which can sometimes create transition problems for players when they are newly recruited into the pro leagues, they are widely regarded as the perfect solution for young players and even for amateur players everywhere.
Though the aluminum bats were patented as early as 1924, it took almost 50 years until they began being mass produced and accepted into the baseball world. Once they were introduced though, their qualities made them become appreciated and used by more and more players. Aluminum bats can be much lighter than wood ones, and have a much greater endurance. While some of the more recent, top of the line models of aluminum bats tend to have a shorter lifespan because of the newer alloys that are used, aluminum bats still tend to have a much longer life than their wooden counterparts. Certain coaches have signaled the fact that the transition between high school baseball and other semi pro leagues and the pro leagues are made difficult for some of the rookies because of the differences in batting that the two types of bats (wood and aluminum) bring forth, but these slight initial adjustment problems have not been known to be unsurpassable.
Aluminum alloy baseball bats, through their lightness, can give the player the possibility to control the ball better and impart a higher speed on their ball. The different alloys of aluminum in baseball bats influence the qualities of each of the respective bats, resulting in increased lightness or durability. Some of the most frequent materials used in aluminum alloys are zinc, copper and magnesium. Zirconium, an incredibly hard and durable material, used in the building of space ships and race cars is also a recent addition to the world of baseball bat aluminum alloys.
One of the main gripes people have about aluminum bats is that of safety. Because of its lightness, an aluminum bat can impart a much higher speed on a hit ball, and if that ball were to hit another player, not an infrequent incident, the effects would border on tragic. The issue of fairness has also been raised. In competing against someone using a wood bat with an aluminum bat, aluminum bats are clearly going to enhance speed and performance, therefore making the game uneven.
Overall, if you are a beginner or a non pro player, aluminum bats are a popular and easy to use baseball bat option for you.
