Wooden Bat Craze

Can someone explain to me what the draw is to wooden bat tournaments?

Since the Pros do not use wooden bats; since the college level players do not use wooden bats; why waste a high school player's time on the wooden bat craze? The majority of baseball players will never see the use of wooden bats after a couple of tournaments. The wooden bats can run fairly expensive and I have seen some of the wooden bats break at the first at bat with them! Also, I think that the excitement level of a wooden bat tournament for both the players and the fans is much lower than an aluminum bat tournament as there are fewer runs scores because the ball does not carry as far.

Please tell me what I am missing or...I guess that maybe wooden bat tournaments are played just for fun but...it just doesn't seem that much MORE fun to me?!?

 

What a great question...

There are a myriad of reasons that a "player" likes to participate in a Wooden Bat Tourney. I'll answer a couple:

As a Pitcher, it's the opportunity to pitch inside without the fear of a Metal bat hit ( hitting the ball on the handle, yet being able to hit it to the OF). Pitching against metal bats is not a good barometer in how effective a pitcher maybe inside.

As a hitter, it seperates the men from the boys. The true hitters vs the wannabees. The "crack of the bat" vs the " Ping"...it's true baseball!!!

It's the difference between NFL vs Arena Football.

By the way, I'm sure it was just an errant slip, but the pros do hit with a wooden bat.....and the State of Massachusett has outlawed metal bats in HS for safety reasons....many other states will follow.

 

I don't believe it's a "Craze" ... it's the way baseball should be played.

The Pro's and the minors do use wooden bats. It's also more natural. The metal bats create an artifically large "sweet spot". The further you go (HS, College), the game shifts artificially to the hitters advantage with metal bats. Miss-hits with metal bats are singles where they are outs with wooden bats.

Hitting with wood helps a player develop a feel for the sweet spot on the bat, which helps in the future regardless of what kind of bat you are using.

Finally, the "exit velocity" of a ball struck with a metal bat is higher than with a wood bat. As the players get bigger/stronger, the risk to a pitcher increases. He doesn't have time to react to a struck ball hit back at him. Each year, there are many injuries in college baseball for pitchers who are struck with a batted ball that may have been able to be dodged or caught if struck by a wooden bat.

The only reason metal bats were introduced was cost. Wooden bats do break, but that's part of the fun of the game. Watching a pitcher come inside and "saw off" a hitter, splintering his bat. As bat technology continues to improve, the cost of metal bats continues to rise. There isn't any cost savings anymore. Now, the only reason to keep metal bats is the continued threat of lawsuits by the bat manufacturers who threaten leagues and states over issues such as "restraint of trade".

Do away with metal bats.

 

a lot of college players use wooden bats in practice

 

There are excellent reasons to hit with a wooden bat in batting practice as Dave stated.

You get feedback from the bat. You can feel a miss-hit on a wooden bat that isn't detectable by feel on a metal bat. You learn to hit the ball on the sweet spot of the bat.

The location of the sweetspot on a metal bat is the same as on a wooden bat, it's just larger. Learning to hit the ball on the sweetspot, like learning most things, is a matter of feedback, which wood provides and metal doesn't.

It will make you a better hitter. Lots of H.S. players take BP with wooden bats also.

 

I knew that the "Wooden Bat Craze" thread would wake up Chief and NCBBALLFAN today!!! Thanks for the explanations Chief and NCBBALLFAN. I knew you two could explain it in great lengths and coverages for me!!!
:xyzthumbs

Anyone else have any comments on the use of wooden bats and/or their experiences with wooden bats?

 

Just imagine if the golf club manufacturers were allowed to invent a club and ball so we could all hit it like Tiger Woods...Hmm...note to self---contact Braves for a great idea

 

The difference between hitting with wood and aluminum is like night and day. Very few dinky hits with wood. There is an article in the paper this morning about the Coastal Plains League (college wood bat league), and the average batting average this summer is something like .240. Most of those guys hit over .300 in college this spring.

 

Thanks for the note on the article in the paper, Papabear, on the college wood bat league. I'll check it out and try and catch up and educate myself!

 

There was also an article in the Gaston Gazette about the CPL All-Star game. During the home run derby, there were 12 hitters who hit a combined 5 home runs. The second round they were sent out with aluminum, no exceptions.