Aluminum Bat History :

The aluminum process itself was patented in 1886 by an Oberlin College graduate named Charles Martin Hall.

The use of aluminum in actual products received a major boost during World War II when the material played an important role in the production of airplanes. After the war, the fledgling aerospace industry continued its use and the development of new alloys.

During the 1960's, Anthony Merola started experimenting, making aluminum ball bats at his home base in Pennsylvania. He eventually started a small manufacturing business, and his new softball bat was approved for play in 1969 by some softball associations.

Large aluminum companies such as Alcoa, Kaiser, and Reynolds also got into the aluminum bat business. They not only manufactured early softball and baseball bats but were also in the business of marketing and selling them to sporting goods stores. Eventually, the "Big Three" got out of the direct selling but continued to supply other bat companies.

Worth Bat Company introduced its first aluminum bat in 1970. Easton Aluminum soon followed. Hillerich & Bradsby Co. introduced its first aluminum youth and softball bats in 1971. In 1972, the company introduced its first adult aluminum baseball bat. Alcoa made Louisville Slugger aluminum bats until 1978, when H&B purchased Alcoa's factory and began manufacturing its own bats.

The growth of aluminum bats was swift. Little League Baseball, Inc. approved them for play in 1971. The last vestige of amateur ball to approve aluminum, the NCAA, did so in 1974. Aluminum bat sales had surpassed wood bat sales by 1975. However, professional baseball did not approve aluminum, and has not done so to this day. Today, aluminum bats dominate all amateur softball and baseball play. While there has been an increase in wood bat usage by amateurs in recent years, aluminum still remains the leading material used.

The rapid rise of aluminum bat usage was motivated by two issues of the day: economics and safety.

In that era of declining funding for non-revenue producing sports in high schools and colleges, cutting costs became paramount. One way to reduce expenses was to purchase a few heavy, thick-barreled, durable aluminum bats rather than the dozens of wood bats a typical baseball team would go through in a season. The reasoning was simple: The aluminum bats lasted longer, and a team needed fewer of them. Although the aluminum bats cost more per unit, the decreased number of bats purchased more than made up the difference in price.

There was also a concern among some that wood bats were dangerous products. A fastball, for example, hit on the handle or the flat of the grain (the weakest part of a wood bat) could result in the bat breaking. A jagged piece of a wood bat barrel hurtling through the air towards the pitcher was a sobering sight to many. Consequently, many who wanted to switch from wood to aluminum put the alleged safety factor forth.

The 1980's and early 90's saw increased research and development by aluminum companies in the area of new alloys for the aerospace industry. Lighter and stronger aluminum soon found its way into other type of products, including softball and baseball bats. Amateur organizations became concerned over the question of "too much offense" in the traditional game caused by aluminum bats. The safety of bats, once again, became a concern to some. The major organizations responded by placing tougher standards on the design and weighting of aluminum bats, and changed the equipment rules to implement the new parameters. Offensive statistics soon stabilized.

Additional performance restrictions were placed on aluminum bats in the mid-90's when the amateur organizations implemented the Ball Exit Speed Ratio (BESR) standards to apply to all bats authorized for play. In simple terms, this requires that the speed of a ball exiting off of an aluminum bat under certain specific test conditions must not exceed the speed of the best-performing wood bats on the same machine. Naturally, there are other conditions that will affect the speed of a ball off a bat (such as the properties of the ball, itself), but the BESR requirement went a long way toward making the performance of aluminum bats more wood-like.

Today, all aluminum bat manufacturers must abide by the equipment rules set by the associations. Otherwise, their bats will not be allowed for play.