Wooden bats help players sharpen skills

July 06, 2009 10:09 am

— TULSA, Okla. (AP) — There are no "ponks" in the ballparks where Diamond League games are played in Tulsa. The league bans aluminum bats.

Ryan Wilson, an outfielder for Owasso during the school year, says he enjoys the challenges of hitting with a wooden bat or, in the case of the Diamond League, composite bats that don't break as easily. Wilson said a ball hit with a wooden bat may not go as far as if it had been hit with an aluminum bat. But he said even wooden bats can equal the metal if the batter manages to make contact with the ball at the bat's "sweet spot."

Broken Arrow coach Shannon Dobson said wood bats force players to learn how to swing a bat properly. He said that, with an aluminum bat, a player can get by with things that a wooden bat wouldn't allow, so wooden bats teach them to be better hitters.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.