post your thoughts and substantiate your choice
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Definitely wood...no bias what-so-ever...its just that wood is so much easier to spell and pronounce than aluminum.
I voted aluminum. I've pitched in the past and don't think that is too dangerous. If every league switched to wood the games would get very boring. There would be very few hits in little league games. High School games would be dominated by pitchers, final scores would be way down. 2-1, 1-0, 2-0, etc.
No way would I want a professional player using metal. But I wouldn't want to deal with using wood all the time as a high school player. A good wood bat ranges from $50-$100. It would get way to exspensive having to buy a new wood bat everytime you break one.
ND,
Looks like you are alone buddy
If every level switched to wood (I don't see this happening in my lifetime) there would be a higher amount of good hitters, IMO.
Looks like you are alone buddy
If every level switched to wood (I don't see this happening in my lifetime) there would be a higher amount of good hitters, IMO.
I have no problem being alone. Personally, I wouldn't mind switching to wood, I just think the games would be less interesting. I think you'd have to start slow, maybe introducing wood in little league first so that group of kids could grow and develop using wood.
When the league my highschool is in switched to wood a few years ago (a few others in eastern Mass did) our whole town all the way down to 10 year olds switched to wood in the following years. We're not affiliated with Little League so out minors, low majors and high majors etc. all use wood. It makes the game a lot less exciting at the younger levels, but is beneficial by the time they get to high school.
GO RED SOX!
gg3
GO RED SOX!
gg3
My school's league, also in Eastern Mass, switched to wood a couple years ago. It only lasted a year and they have since switched back to aluminum. A lot of games were low scoring, 2-1, 1-0, etc. There were many games where each team only had 2 or 3 hits. The pitchers were dominating.
Originally posted by nd943:quote:
I have no problem being alone. Personally, I wouldn't mind switching to wood, I just think the games would be less interesting. I think you'd have to start slow, maybe introducing wood in little league first so that group of kids could grow and develop using wood.
quote:
We used wood when I was in LL>
Our Legion league used wood the last 3 years. While the games tended to be lower scoring than pre-wood years, there were very few games with less the 5 runs scored. The games weren't boring, the boys played more 'BASEBALL' bunting ,stealing, etc.
As the father of a pitcher, I'm a wood guy all the way.
I have no problem withalimuim, alumumn, aluminum [jeez, gotwood WAS right!!] for little kids - I think they get more out of aluminum and their interest level will stay up. But once they hit 12-13, they should start using wood.
I don't buy the cost factor either for younger kids - most of them aren't stronger enough to break the bats. At 13, they don't need the $75 or more maple bats -- the $20 Louisville Sluggers at Sports Authority are fine...use a couple a year instead of $150 plus for high end aluminum that they our grow every year at that age, and the money they save can be put towardsiPODs the better, more frequently broken wood bats as they get older.
The games are most defintiely NOT less interesting.
As the father of a pitcher, I'm a wood guy all the way.
I have no problem with
I don't buy the cost factor either for younger kids - most of them aren't stronger enough to break the bats. At 13, they don't need the $75 or more maple bats -- the $20 Louisville Sluggers at Sports Authority are fine...use a couple a year instead of $150 plus for high end aluminum that they our grow every year at that age, and the money they save can be put towards
The games are most defintiely NOT less interesting.
I have to agree on the wood bat as well. I believe that at high school (maybe junior high too) through college should all be wood.
The cost of fifty broken wood bast would be worth it even if only one pitcher was saved from being creamed by a line drive off an aluminum bat.
The cost of fifty broken wood bast would be worth it even if only one pitcher was saved from being creamed by a line drive off an aluminum bat.
while the wood composite are pricey they do last a long time.
I voted wood since I am a purist......but as we all know or should know...this will never happen.....
It's amazing so many prefer wood. We have been doing all our events (except for the new BCS) with nothing but wood for 14 years.
The people on this site would make for a good over all sampling. I think the players who have used wood also prefer it over the metal game. So why again, are we still using Aluminum bats?
The people on this site would make for a good over all sampling. I think the players who have used wood also prefer it over the metal game. So why again, are we still using Aluminum bats?
So according to this poll, even with ages 6-10, ~90% of those who voted feel that wood should be the universal bat?quote:The survey asks;
If you had the deciding vote on the usage of wood or aluminum/other type bats at all levels, what would you choose?
Like I said, I voted aluminum, but I wouldn't mind seeing wood used. I love baseball. I'm the type of player that isn't the most gifted player, but I do the little things. I don't have great speed, but I'm a good baserunner. I can bunt, hit the other way, etc. Wood would make the game more like mine. It's just I can't see younger kid's using wood. I can't imagine a 9 or 10 year old getting any hits at all in little league with a wood bat.
After a summer where my son played more wood bat tourney's than metal, I will say that the wood bats expose who the good hitters really are and reveal a little about how effective a location pitcher can be. Wood bats have a skinnier barrel and more defined sweet spot. A hitters approach has to be more focused on the mechanics of hitting. It's a thing of beauty to see a player get a solid opposite field hit with a wood bat, because you know that he hit that the way he was supposed to hit to the opposite side...With aluminum, an opposite field hit is many times a cheap hit off the end of the bat or inside jam.
Conversely, how many effective location pitchers have been rattled to the point of it affecting their approach to the game due to that cheap hit with a metal bat on a good inside fastball or a nubber off the end of the bat that floats over a first basemans head?
It used to be that economics were the reason that everyone switched to metal. I remember going through 4-5 wood bats a year as a kid. That got expensive for my parents. Metal bats were supposed to be the cheaper alternative...Now that most metal bats are $300+, (Most good travel ball players want the best TPX or Easton Model...the new composites are $350) that economic rationale is lost...A good maple wood bat can be had for $45...many pro-stock bats can be bought for less..Three of either model throughout the year are still half the price of a metal bat.
As feeders to the big leagues,I'm not sure why High schools, colleges and the nations most prolific travel teams and the tournaments they enter haven't made the total switch back over to wood. There are more and more thanks to PG and others, but there needs to be a total switch...especially at the 15-18 age groups. Interestingly, it was weird hearing wood to ball this summer after nearly a decade of youth ball and the ping of metal...but after the first tourney, the crack of the bat was pure music to my ears.
Conversely, how many effective location pitchers have been rattled to the point of it affecting their approach to the game due to that cheap hit with a metal bat on a good inside fastball or a nubber off the end of the bat that floats over a first basemans head?
It used to be that economics were the reason that everyone switched to metal. I remember going through 4-5 wood bats a year as a kid. That got expensive for my parents. Metal bats were supposed to be the cheaper alternative...Now that most metal bats are $300+, (Most good travel ball players want the best TPX or Easton Model...the new composites are $350) that economic rationale is lost...A good maple wood bat can be had for $45...many pro-stock bats can be bought for less..Three of either model throughout the year are still half the price of a metal bat.
As feeders to the big leagues,I'm not sure why High schools, colleges and the nations most prolific travel teams and the tournaments they enter haven't made the total switch back over to wood. There are more and more thanks to PG and others, but there needs to be a total switch...especially at the 15-18 age groups. Interestingly, it was weird hearing wood to ball this summer after nearly a decade of youth ball and the ping of metal...but after the first tourney, the crack of the bat was pure music to my ears.
I'd let the little guys use aluminum, but make 'em use the original alumimum bats - heavy, no enlarged sweet spots..one bat good enough for the whole team
LD - good points, especially how the economics have gone in the opposite direction
One more thing..A couple of people said that wood bats slow down the game...I am from the school of thought that there is drama on every pitch, no matter what the score...A 1-0 game to me is much more exciting than a 7-5 bang fest...A wood bat won't make you strike out if you are a contact hitter...A hitter will still make contact...It will however separate the exceptional hitters from the average ones...It will also test the resiliancy of the defense, especially the infield. Instead of cheap dinkers, there will be more ground balls...therefore testing the infield...Long fly balls won't be as long either.
Other benefits of wood...
It will show many scouts however how effective a pitcher can be with his location...
A gapper to the fence or a home run is so much more impressive when you know it was hit with a wood bat...
It will force players that want to keep playing to focus on their mechanics...you will see better, more selective hitters IMO...
It will also cause players to get more serious about everyday core training in the off-season..A wood bat will take 20-30 feet off of a fly ball...many players will want that 30 ft. back and will get stronger to achieve that.
There are many more upsides to wood for the long term...except maybe the tree thing..but with bamboo...basically a weed, and other composites, there are other options available for the eco-types.
Other benefits of wood...
It will show many scouts however how effective a pitcher can be with his location...
A gapper to the fence or a home run is so much more impressive when you know it was hit with a wood bat...
It will force players that want to keep playing to focus on their mechanics...you will see better, more selective hitters IMO...
It will also cause players to get more serious about everyday core training in the off-season..A wood bat will take 20-30 feet off of a fly ball...many players will want that 30 ft. back and will get stronger to achieve that.
There are many more upsides to wood for the long term...except maybe the tree thing..but with bamboo...basically a weed, and other composites, there are other options available for the eco-types.
From High School on I'd go with wood. I just hate to see that little 12 year old kid trying to swing a wood bat and going home throw his glove in the corner and not go back, or that 13 yr old team that is only hitting balls to deep second base. Right now we are watching the LLWS where the cream has risen to the top, and there are saftey issues with some of those gorillas. For every team that even makes it out of their State qualifiers their are 100's of others that struggle through a game. Another analogy is that websters kids from this site are probably the cream of their leagues. All kids are not the same, and my guess is that most of them play the game at a lower level than the kids in our circle. You do not fix a problem by only identifying issues from one group.
I think that before we start making statements that wood is the answer we should look at the level of players all across the board. The last thing you want to do is frustrate a kid to the point of quitting. Look at your sons 13 yr old LL league top to bottom when they got on the big diamond. How many of those kids are going to be able to find the outfield with wood. How many outfielders are going to be staring into the concession stand waiting for the inning to get over. Small ball and manufacturing runs is a lost art, but, baseball is still a contact sport with extra-base hits and 9 fielders.
The problem is not the bat, it's Mom and Dad who go out and buy these missle launchers. It's Americas supply and demand mentality. Can you blame the bat munufacturers? The National Youth Baseball organizations need to get together and set standards where the technology does not dictate the bat, rules do. The BESR standard was nothing more a method for bat manufacturers to to make a statement they were concerned. It is far from effective and the manufacturers knew that standard could be fudged with technology.
There is a point where wood is the answer, but not as a blanket statement. Now us old ferts who had to walk 5 miles uphill to and from school we accepted the wood. That was then, this is now, and whether we like it or not it is not the same. I never had a "good" mitt, never had a batting glove, My spikes were more uncomfortable than my Sunday shoes and my Killabrew Louiseville Slugger never broke because I couldn't swing it because of the weight.
I think that before we start making statements that wood is the answer we should look at the level of players all across the board. The last thing you want to do is frustrate a kid to the point of quitting. Look at your sons 13 yr old LL league top to bottom when they got on the big diamond. How many of those kids are going to be able to find the outfield with wood. How many outfielders are going to be staring into the concession stand waiting for the inning to get over. Small ball and manufacturing runs is a lost art, but, baseball is still a contact sport with extra-base hits and 9 fielders.
The problem is not the bat, it's Mom and Dad who go out and buy these missle launchers. It's Americas supply and demand mentality. Can you blame the bat munufacturers? The National Youth Baseball organizations need to get together and set standards where the technology does not dictate the bat, rules do. The BESR standard was nothing more a method for bat manufacturers to to make a statement they were concerned. It is far from effective and the manufacturers knew that standard could be fudged with technology.
There is a point where wood is the answer, but not as a blanket statement. Now us old ferts who had to walk 5 miles uphill to and from school we accepted the wood. That was then, this is now, and whether we like it or not it is not the same. I never had a "good" mitt, never had a batting glove, My spikes were more uncomfortable than my Sunday shoes and my Killabrew Louiseville Slugger never broke because I couldn't swing it because of the weight.
I agree rz, in my earlier post I stated that wood should be for the 15-18 age groups...that's HS age and a time when you start to separate the rec ball players from the real players...so let the real players play with real equipment...wood bats...
http://www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/sweetspot.html
***** this is fun with an aluminum bat
*****
From what I remember as a kid playing in the glorious weather of NEO, was that it was so cold at times, you taught yourself to not get a handle shot or cueball........ouch.
What good is an aluminum bat? Watching diminutive 2nd basemen hitting 430 foot opposite field gap bombs. Makes me shake my head on what was a flyout.
***** this is fun with an aluminum bat
From what I remember as a kid playing in the glorious weather of NEO, was that it was so cold at times, you taught yourself to not get a handle shot or cueball........ouch.
What good is an aluminum bat? Watching diminutive 2nd basemen hitting 430 foot opposite field gap bombs. Makes me shake my head on what was a flyout.
OLDSLUGGERS,
In NEO you were a Southern Boy to us.
I agree about the 430 ft bombs. I'm saying that until HS the wood bat is not the answer and I thought the poll was a metal or no metal.
In NEO you were a Southern Boy to us.
I agree about the 430 ft bombs. I'm saying that until HS the wood bat is not the answer and I thought the poll was a metal or no metal.
Good thoughts but I think a pipedream. Americans can't standardize anything unless it is affects their life for ever. The bat situation is a grassrooted by diehards parents looking to make a difference. Unfortunatly their kids sooner or later get out of baseball and the bat-militant walks away because it no longer is a vested interest.
This may not hold true for you but if every second person walked away when the cause did not affect them all of a sudden the cause becomes segmented without a backbone and stagnates. Bat companies realize this transition so they don't fight it they just let it circulate and know that nothing will come of it across the board. And it will most likely flesh out other bat business for them on the side.
This may not hold true for you but if every second person walked away when the cause did not affect them all of a sudden the cause becomes segmented without a backbone and stagnates. Bat companies realize this transition so they don't fight it they just let it circulate and know that nothing will come of it across the board. And it will most likely flesh out other bat business for them on the side.
You know whats funny. I don't want the distance, I want a technology designed club that goes straight. I'm sorry to say but I guess I also want a helping hand much like baseballs metal bat.quote:Same goes for the PGA
I voted wood.. but only for HS and beyond.
Under 14 keep Whatever Super Duper, latest, wonderful technical Alloy, better than the space shuttle has... with the finest paint job around... BATS.
How else can dads make their sons better hitters if they can't go and spend $300....
Seriously, keep the aluminum, for the youth leagues. But beyond I no longer buy into the COST issue, as an excuse. You can get very good wood bats under $50.. and that means you can get half dozen for the price of a single new Aluminum bat, which is seems every HS player has anyway... (BTW some of which I've seen dent within a week) My oldest went thru 4 aluminum bats this last season,(fortunatley college has a sponsorship) and youngest used up 3 during the year
For the last 4 years my oldest son has only used metal bats to play HS or College games. Off-season and most BP has been using wood... so why not use wood in college and HS games...???
Under 14 keep Whatever Super Duper, latest, wonderful technical Alloy, better than the space shuttle has... with the finest paint job around... BATS.
How else can dads make their sons better hitters if they can't go and spend $300....
Seriously, keep the aluminum, for the youth leagues. But beyond I no longer buy into the COST issue, as an excuse. You can get very good wood bats under $50.. and that means you can get half dozen for the price of a single new Aluminum bat, which is seems every HS player has anyway... (BTW some of which I've seen dent within a week) My oldest went thru 4 aluminum bats this last season,(fortunatley college has a sponsorship) and youngest used up 3 during the year
For the last 4 years my oldest son has only used metal bats to play HS or College games. Off-season and most BP has been using wood... so why not use wood in college and HS games...???
I don't have a problem with using wood in high school, I just don't think you can switch over in one year, it has to be planned. You can't just decide one year that you're going to use wood. Many of the kids would be used to using metal and not be able to hit at all because of the little practice they've had with wood. That's just not right. They should know that they're going to have to use wood when they're coming up so they can practice and get used to the change.
Wood,..wood,..woood!!!! Need I say more?
Simple and to the point,...wood.
Simple and to the point,...wood.
quote:Originally posted by PGStaff:
It's amazing so many prefer wood. We have been doing all our events (except for the new BCS) with nothing but wood for 14 years.
The people on this site would make for a good over all sampling. I think the players who have used wood also prefer it over the metal game. So why again, are we still using Aluminum bats?
I voted wood. My kids use Aluminum in games because you can drive the ball farther but I use wood for BP because of the smaller sweet spot.
Before ya know it the new aluminum bat will come with its very own lazer guided rocket launchers. Their site target: 200 feet behind the centerfielder's glove!
IMO thats not baseball, but perhaps if we stick with aluminium bats,..it could be.
IMO thats not baseball, but perhaps if we stick with aluminium bats,..it could be.
Just to jump in from a team/parent stand point. I'm all for wood, HS Varsity and beyond.
3 years ago when we started playing in wood bats events, we as a team would always purchase bats to bring with us on the road. The first year we purchased around 3-4 dozen and at year end did not have many left. Certain players were notorious bat breakers. 2 years ago we purchased the same and had over a dozen left over. and this year we purchased 2 dozen and as a team only broke 14 bats for the 50 game season. As the kids got more adept at swinging wood through games and practice the number of broken bats decreased. It's a much better game with wood bats...
3 years ago when we started playing in wood bats events, we as a team would always purchase bats to bring with us on the road. The first year we purchased around 3-4 dozen and at year end did not have many left. Certain players were notorious bat breakers. 2 years ago we purchased the same and had over a dozen left over. and this year we purchased 2 dozen and as a team only broke 14 bats for the 50 game season. As the kids got more adept at swinging wood through games and practice the number of broken bats decreased. It's a much better game with wood bats...
I agree with wood at the HS level, but what about the younger kids? You don't think a 9 year old trying to hit would struggle? Where I'm from 9 year olds can't hit with aluminum, let alone wood.
Our Fall league for ages 14-16 and 16-19 use only wood. First it was only for the HS Varsity guys, 16-19 (or those projected to be on the Varsity the next season) Then the 14-16 group wanted it and we gladly made that all wood.
Yes, they do break bats. But something I have been watching, not only in this league, but this summer in a college wood bat league.
THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO HIT WITH WOOD!!
They don't understand the grain, they don't know how to hold the bat. I sit behind the backstop and can READ his label. One good hit, bye bye bat.
Coaches need to teach the proper way to hit with wood! Expecially those that break bat after bat.
Yes, they do break bats. But something I have been watching, not only in this league, but this summer in a college wood bat league.
THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO HIT WITH WOOD!!
They don't understand the grain, they don't know how to hold the bat. I sit behind the backstop and can READ his label. One good hit, bye bye bat.
Coaches need to teach the proper way to hit with wood! Expecially those that break bat after bat.
Wood!!!!! It's a better game and you don't have so many little dink hits just past the infield. Teachs the hitters to use better mechanics, making them better hitters.