Metal vs. Wood: Baseball Bat Battle Brews

April 2, 2007— -- Dustin Satloff, 13, has a curious affinity for baseball. He loves to play, but his passion extends beyond the catcher's box he occupies for New York City's Collegiate School. "I've just always loved baseball bats," he says.

When Dustin's father, who operates a ski factory in China, told him he was experimenting with a new material, his curiosity was piqued. Dustin and his father now own Sat-Bat, a company that makes and sells bamboo-composite baseball bats from Indiana to Connecticut.

Bamboo bats represent a tiny fraction of the competitive, multimillion dollar baseball bat industry, but Dustin says they're slowly gaining wider use in various youth and amateur leagues.

"It's a growing business. Most people go out and buy maple bats or metal bats, just because they don't know about bamboo," he says.

And according to Dustin it only takes a few swings to become a believer. "They don't break as often as wood bats," he says, and can last up to four times longer than a conventional piece of lumber. Dustin is quick to explain how the benefits of a bamboo bat even transcend baseball. "They're also good for the environment. Bamboo grows really fast. It only takes five years to grow bamboo, which is much faster than regular trees."

Dustin's Sat-Bat is one of the few positive, refreshing stories to emerge from an otherwise ugly battle brewing in many local communities about the use of metal versus wooden bats in baseball. Major Leauge baseball players use wooden bats. But most other leagues, including Little Leagues, high school and college level leagues, use metal.

This year the issue came to a head in New York when the City Council voted to ban metal bats from citywide high school baseball competitions.

The council passed a measure on March 14 by an overwhelming majority (40-6) that could force high school baseball teams to stop using metal bats and instead switch to wooden bats starting next year. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has yet to act on the bill, but many have speculated he will kill the legislation, despite the council having secured enough votes to override a veto.