
Baseball bat materials vary significantly in durability and exit velocity based on wood density and mechanical properties. Aluminum bats generally provide 2–3% higher exit velocities than wood at moderate speeds due to the "trampoline effect" of their hollow walls. However, at higher impact speeds (40 MPH pitches), some studies show maple wood can outperform aluminum by 3–4% as the trampoline effect minimizes and the solid wood more efficiently returns stored elastic energy.