Wooden versus aluminum hockey bats term paper

Hockey, Biomechanics, Physics, Sports Treatments

Excerpt from Term Newspaper:

Baseball Bats today come in numerous varieties, in the standard 20 dollars wooden such as the to a state of the art, $300 light weight aluminum model (Sports-werd. com, 2002). Each type of bat has its advantages and disadvantages, and has a one of a kind feel and sound. On both college level and specialist levels of baseball, the types of bats allowed vary in material. Yet, while the baseball bats may differ, there are still many commonalities that make both aluminum and wooden bats comparable in the world of baseball.

Baseball bats in the first phase came in varying shapes and sizes. Inside the 1850’s, players made their own bats and experimented with several lengths and mass. As a result of wide variety of softball bat size, and thus the vast differences in batting ability, a rule was performed in 1859 that bats could be no larger than 2 . 5 ins around. A rule to limit the size of the such as the to 42 inches was enacted in 1869. This kind of rule nonetheless applies today (Baseball-bats. net, 2003).

In 1884, probably the most famous bats was developed, which is still probably the most famous labels in baseball bats today, The Louisville Slugger. While watching a Louisville player named Pete Lightly browning break his favorite softball bat and become disappointed, 17-year-old John Hillerich wished to help. Hillerich worked like a woodworker together with his father. This individual approached Pistolet and offered to make him a new softball bat. Browning approved, and with each other they selected the bit of white lung burning ash for the bat materials. Browning proceeded to go three for three the next day, and demand for the bat quickly grew (Baseball-bat. net, 2003).

Until the 1920’s, most bats were made of white lung burning ash wood. In 1924, however , a obvious was granted to Bill Shroyer pertaining to the initially metal football bat (Baseball-bat. net, 2003). While utilized somewhat, the new metal bats were not found on a national level until the first light weight aluminum bat of 1970, manufactured by the Really worth company (Sports-wired. com, 2002). From their one-piece aluminum softball bat to the stronger grade aluminium of the Easton bat back in the 1970’s, the aluminum bat began to gain popularity (Mitsuda, 2002). Lately, Titanium bats were launched in 1993, and in 95, the Easton company created the lightest quality aluminum bats to date (Baseball-bat. net, 2003).

Although lightweight aluminum bats are very popular, similar to white ash, a single episode introduced a different type of well-known bat. In the 2001 specialist baseball season, Barry A genuine hit a list 73 residence runs within a season. It had been soon discovered that Bonds was using a maple wood softball bat, rather than the common white lung burning ash bat. Since other players tried the bat, product sales soared, and a new rage in bats was born (Baseball-bat. net, 2003).

The debate over which type of bat is better has raged since the intro of the light weight aluminum bat. Currently, the NCAA uses just aluminum bats (Kelly, 2000), while the professional leagues use only wooden bats (Baseball-bat. net, 2002). Although some tout the protection of the wooden bat (Kelly, 2002), other folks point to evidence of increased performance of the lightweight aluminum bat (Crisco, Greenwood, 2000). Yet the two types include distinct features that make these people equally exclusive and equally reliable.

The wooden softball bat of today resembles the wooden bats of 100 years before. The largest transform is that of the kind of wood. Early bats applied hickory intended for the softball bat material, although modern bats use lung burning ash and maple as well (Conley, et ‘s., 1997). Each type of solid wood has its own pros and cons.

White ash is used for its inflexibility, toughness, force, weight and “feel. ” Lighter bats are much easier to swing, and thus result in a faster move. Maple bats have become well-liked in recent years, as well. Maple bats cost more than white lung burning ash, but they generally last longer for their high strength. Hickory bats, although used in the early years, happen to be almost non-existent in the professional leagues of today. Hickory, while strong and intensely hard, is also extremely weighty. Hickory snowboarding bats consider too much for most ball players to efficiently swing (Baseball-bats. net, 2002).

Aluminum bats, on the other hand, happen to be lighter and stronger than wooden bats. The technology put into lightweight aluminum bats has grown dramatically over the years, creating bats of aircraft-grade aluminum and stronger metals. Most recently, the introduction of the double-wall and carbon fiber bats, and bats that use a “cryogenic” manufacturing method have even more increased the capacity of the material (Baseball-bats. net, 2003).

Since the aluminum bat is less heavy than the wood bat, making use of the aluminum bat means the participant has more control of his or her swing, which has positive aspects. Adjusting the swing pertaining to the presentation is easier when more time can be given. When a wooden softball bat is swinging, adjustments to this swing will be difficult (Calder, 2000).

In respect to research made by Keith Keonig of Mississippi State University’s Aerospace office, there is a large correlation among swing speed and the excess weight of the bat. “We’ve located a fairly noticeable difference in the swing velocity for the heavier bats, ” Koenig stated, after being commissioned by the NCAA to test this relationship. His studies located swing speeds of around 65 miles-per-hour for 28- ounce bats and about 63 mph for those weighing 30 ounces.

Based on the research, actually this minor reduction can easily vastly increase a pitcher’s ability to react to a ball hit within their direction (Koenig, 1999).

On the other hand, because the wooden bat is heavier, they have less “recoil”: This means that a wooden bat moving perfectly speed because an lightweight aluminum bat will hit the ball with additional force, and therefore will struck the ball farther. Additionally , a wooden bat would not vibrate as much in the player’s hands, which can be far better for the player’s arm and side joints over long periods (Calder, 2000).

One other major difference is that wood made bats happen to be solid, while many aluminum bats are hollowed out. This means that, to get a wood such as the, if the manufacturer wants to associated with bat much longer or fatter, the baseball bat must be bulkier, which might be a disadvantage. For aluminium, compensation to get length or diameter can be made by producing the aluminum shell thin. Without having to put weight, the balance of the aluminum bat may be maintained with out added burden, which is a certain advantage for lightweight aluminum (Nathan, 2002).

Another consequence of the wooden bat would be that the center of gravity is further from the hands, as most of the excess weight is in the clip or barrel of the bat. For an aluminum such as the, because it is a thin shell, the weight is more evenly distributed and less concentrated inside the barrel, and therefore has a harmony point closer to the hands. Therefore , a batter could get a bigger bat speed with a great aluminum bat than to get a wood softball bat of equivalent weight and dimensions (Nathan, 2002). Consequently , the aluminum bat can significantly outshine wooden bats.

This was validated by a study done by the American University of Sports activities Medicine (ACSM) in 2002. In the examine, seven such as the models had been tested simply by 19 right-handed players of varying skill level. The bats and the tennis balls were noticeable with strapping that could be inquired about by infrared cameras positioned around house plate. Action capture software was used to record and analyze the swings with various bats, and also the properties from the balls (Crisco, et. al, 2002).

The average speed of any hit from the fastest baseball bat tested, a great aluminum such as the, was 93. 3 with. The slowest bat, a wooden model, had an average hit speed of 86. 1 mph. Hits made with the solid wood bats surpass 100 your only 2% of the time, when compared with 37% with the hits with all the fastest metallic bat (ScienceDaily, 2002).

Findings based on this data included that bigger batted ball speeds could be achieved using a metal baseball bat, due to faster swing rates of speed. In addition , more quickly ball speed could be because of the greater flexible properties present in aluminum bats (Crisco, ou. al, 2002). The research figured, due to constant weight and dimensions, metallic baseball bats can significantly do better than wooden bats

However , the consistent circulation of excess weight for an aluminum such as the also has a downside. Because there is less excess weight on the extensive part of a great aluminum baseball bat than for a wood such as the, the softball bat produces a less effective collision with the ball. The ball can leave the bat quicker for a weighty bat than for a lumination bat. Believed an aluminium bat may possibly weight exactly like a real wood bat, the propelling in the ball in the bat once swinging depends on the weight from the impact stage on the such as the. A typical aluminium bat has less weight in the barrel than a standard wood such as the and is therefore less effective (Nathan, 2002).

Apart from the effectiveness in the bat, there are other variations. Wooden bats, for example , are more likely to break upon impact using a ball near the middle of the bat (Russel, 2003). Bats generally break near the handle