What Are Composite Baseball Bats

Composite baseball bats are the future, so get used to using them. Composite baseball bats are stronger and lighter than high-grade aluminum bats. They are made two different ways, with a graphite-fiber composite material or with an aluminum core that has graphite lining.

Composite baseball bats are lighter than aluminum bats, and they therefore provide the hitter with a larger barrel and sweet spot within the designated drop ratio. This essentially gives the hitter a larger margin for error, which can turn even an average hitter a clean-up hitter.

Composite bats have acceptably been used in the sport of softball for the past ten years. They were introduced to the sport of baseball around a similar time, but were rejected by the baseball community for a variety of reasons.

For one, the early composite bats were found to break relatively easily and were even considered flimsy. Second, and more surprisingly, these were rejected because they do not produce the trademark "ping" sound that comes from an aluminum bat. Everyone has become accustomed to hearing the ping when an aluminum bat connects with a baseball.

Some even believe that a bat has no pop when that noise is not made. I recall a high school player telling me that these composite bats were terrible simply because they sound like a wood bat when it connects with a baseball. These reasons factored into the manufacturers reasoning for giving up on composite baseball bats. In 2008 things have changed dramatically.

Composite bats have since been embraced by baseball players, after being reintroduced into the sport a few years ago. These composite bats have since become very popular in baseball and should certainly dominate the bat industry in the near future. There are many differences that should be understood in regard to composite bats and aluminum bats.

First, composite bats take longer to break-in than aluminum bats. It can take hitting 100 to 150 baseballs in order to correctly break in these bats (baseballs not batting cage balls). Initially, when hitting baseballs it will sound like it came off a wooden bat, but with some hard work and dedication you can break them in relatively quickly and so that it sounds more like a rifle shot.

Secondly, you need to realize that you are no longer swinging a piece of metal. Composite bats are not as durable, and are also slightly more susceptible to cold weather. Swinging them against concrete and/or fence posts is certainly not a good idea. Finally, composite baseball bats are more expensive than aluminum bats.

So if you want one you are going to have to be willing to pay top dollar for the better product. Manufacturers have begun to offer a few lower priced composite bat options, such as the Louisville Omaha Comp, and I am hoping that many more are on the way. Composite baseball bats are a tremendous option for some of today's most successful baseball players from the youth to college level. As previously stated, composite baseball bats are the future, so get used to using them.