Researchers Find Non-Wood No More Dangerous Than Wood
February 12, 2007

Aluminum Bats No More Dangerous than Wooden Ones

By Stephanie Harris

Brown Daily Herald (Brown U.)

(U-WIRE) PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Aluminum baseball bats may hit the ball faster and harder than wooden ones, but they are not more dangerous, according to new research by Brown University Associate Professor of Orthopaedics J.J. Crisco.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is considering banning the use of aluminum bats in high school play, but Crisco's research suggests such a step would be unnecessary.

"The data does not support an increased risk with aluminum baseball bats," he said.
The Massachusetts organization is using Crisco's research as evidence to support its claim that aluminum bats are more dangerous. It hopes to ban the use of aluminum bats in all high school games starting in the 2004 season. Yet Crisco cautioned against associating ball speed with injury rate.

"If you look at [the injury rate] scientifically, baseball remains one of the safest contact sports. ... To make a decision for aluminum based on data is not supported," he said.

Crisco, whose research focuses on injury prevention, was funded by the NCAA to do a study on the differences between the two types of bats. The study found that aluminum bats "hit the ball faster more often," Crisco said.

Two factors contribute to this increase in ball speed: The faster swing speeds that occur with aluminum bats, and the trampoline effect. The trampoline effect is a term describing the elastic properties of the bat that allow the ball to come off faster.

"When the ball hits the bat," Crisco explained, "energy is lost as the ball deforms, and the more energy lost, the slower the hit. Aluminum bats are believed to collapse or bend when the ball hits, allowing the ball to deform less and therefore lose less energy," he said.

Major league baseball uses only wooden bats. The Brown baseball team uses aluminum bats during the season, although they practice with wooden bats.

Aluminum bats hit the ball farther than wood, members of the baseball team said, but it is more beneficial to practice with wood, as it is harder to hit the ball well.

"Our coach likes to use wood because wood really teaches you how to hit," said William Cebron ('05), a member of the team. "If you get jammed or hit the ball on the end of the bat with wood, the bat's going to break. So you have to hit solid and get the head of the bat on the ball, whereas with aluminum you can get jammed or hit on the end and still get a hit," he explained.

Cebron said he hits the ball farther and harder with aluminum bats. "You can hit anywhere up and down on the aluminum bat and you can still hit it pretty hard," he said.
He said he thought that wooden bats would be safer because it is more difficult to hit the ball hard.

Christopher Contrino ('05) agreed that the ball goes farther with aluminum. With wood, "you have to have a true swing on the ball, nice solid contact to get a base hit. The ball jumps off the bat much quicker" with aluminum, he said.

He was not convinced that the switch to wood bats would be safer, however. "Accidents are kind of rare. They don't happen too often, but when they do, they are severe at times. Making the change over to wood could make things a lot easier, but you could still get injured," he said.

Although Crisco's research does not support a switch to wooden bats for safety reasons, Crisco said he is not against making such a change.

"If they prefer to use wood bats, they have the option of doing that. They have to say that they're making the decision based on their preferences" as opposed to scientific data, he said.