Baseball Bat Materials

Baseball bats can be made out of a range of different materials from high tech aluminum composite bats to traditional hard turned white ash wood bats.

Aluminum Bats
Aluminum bats where first introduced into mainstream baseball in the 1970’s, although designs for making bats from this material had been around since the 1920’s.  Worth were the first manufacturer to start producing aluminum bats on a large scale, and in the late 1970’s Easton also started making these types of metal bats, with a higher grade aluminum alloy that improved the bats durability and power.  Standard aluminum bats were much cheaper to make than hand made wood bats, and this combined with their massive power and solid delivery meant that they have long been popular in youth baseball and for beginners.  Aluminum bats are banned from the major league and also some youth leagues as not only are they simply too potent in the hands of professional batters, (new stadiums would have to be built to accommodate the increased striking range) but also they are so powerful they can be dangerous to other players out on the field.

Titanium Bats
Both Worth and Easton introduced titanium bats in 1993, which is even stronger and lighter than the highest grade aluminum but is much more expensive so is usually combined with an aluminium core and titanium lining or outer wall.  Some softball associations have banned the use of titanium, as the extreme performance was not very competitive and also dangerous for other players.

Composite Bats
Composite bats combine several different materials to improve durability and performance, and this normally includes graphite or carbon fibres combined with aluminum or titanium.  You can also get wood composite bats, and these usually combine wood barrels with metal/graphite handles for optimum performance.

Wood Bats
Wood baseball bats can be made from any lightweight, hard wood, but the most popular woods are white ash and maple.  Red oak and bamboo bats are also growing in popularity, but the old favourite, hickory, has fallen out of favour as it is just too dense and heavy for the modern game.