Kelly Thomer
Sports History
Why Aluminum Bats should be Banned from the NCAA

Crack! That was the sound of our nation's pastime in the early days of baseball. For nearly 125, years the wooden bat was used in every level of baseball. In Tom's River, New Jersey, the little league World Series is held every summer. Ping! This is the only sound that a spectator will hear during one of those baseball games. What happened to the old-fashioned crack of the bat? The wooden bat has been used in professional baseball since the game's establishment in 1864. An aluminum bat is more dangerous than a wooden bat due to the advanced technology of the aluminum bat, but offers a greater impact to a ball than a wooden bat could. For college ball players hoping to make it to the majors, they should be using the equipment required by the MLB in order to be the most prepared. Also, it makes it harder for scouts to determine how a player will perform under different conditions. This is why I believe the NCAA should play with the same standards as the MLB. The baseball bat controversy has been lingering over amateur baseball since the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) allowed the use of aluminum bats for the first time in 1974 (Adelson). Every year there is another injury to a pitcher as a result of the aluminum bat due to its exit velocity. The exit velocity of a ball plays a key role in determining the level of risk of injury. It is defined as the speed of the ball off the bat. The standard exit velocity of an aluminum bat at the sweet spot is nearly 105 mph. That is nearly fifteen mph faster than any wooden bat. "Andrew Sanchez, a Cal State Northridge pitcher had his skull fractured by a ball hit by an aluminum bat" (Adelson 5). Sanchez later sued the NCAA and Louisville Slugger, one of the two makers of the high-powered aluminum bat. Louisville Slugger remarked,