Tourney brings a traditional flare back to baseball

Friday, June 5, 2009

CHARLESTON -- William Shroyer first introduced the metal bat in 1924. Shroyer patented the bat, but it wasn't until 1970 when baseball actually saw the first aluminum bat used in a game when Worth put them into production and since the '70s the product has grown in leaps and bounds.

Major League Baseball has always stood firm on the issue of metal bats -- there will be none used in the league. At the collegiate level the aluminum bat has remained a staple, as well as at the high school level, which makes a wooden bat tournament that much more interesting.

"I like wood bats," said Charleston Fighting Squirrels' head coach Michael Minner. "I think high school should go back to wood bats -- actually, I think everything should go back to wood. I just like it better. I like the sound better."

Metal bats have their pros and cons, but safety aside, wooden bats bring about a traditional flare to the game as well as a sense of truth to some degree.

"The ping cheats kids," said Minner. "You don't know who the good hitters are because with aluminum in your hand anybody can look like a hitter. Wood separates the hitters from the non-hitters."

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