RAPID CITY - Sports purists have always insisted that the game of baseball is better when players tote lumber and not aluminum when they step into the batter's box.

And now some are saying that wood bats also make the game safer, especially for pitchers and infielders, because of the higher speeds of baseballs batted off an aluminum bat.

Aluminum bats have been favored by college, American Legion and high school leagues since first being developed in the '70s.

The metal bat's biggest advantage is its durability and in allowing especially younger players to become proficient hitters.

Because of concerns that metal bats generate too much ball speed, the swing may indeed be coming back to wood, because a recent decision by New York City to ban non-wood bats for its high school leagues starting in September.

Proponents of a metal bat ban cite the "trampoline effect" of metal bats that propels a hit baseball at higher speeds.

According to a study by Physics Professor Daniel Russell of Kettering University of

Flint, Mich., a baseball compresses upon impact with a wooden bat, dissipating much of the energy and resulting in the ball traveling at a lower speed.

A metal bat compresses and recoils, transferring more energy to the ball.

High school teams in North Dakota also made the switch to wood bats this spring.

Officials and coaches said a desire to return to a more traditional game of baseball and to address problems of aluminum bat durability in the state's cold weather spring season fueled the move, along with safety concerns.

Even with the wood vs. metal debate ongoing, South Dakota's high school and American Legion teams will stick with aluminum bats, at least for now.

"It's almost an annual conversation," said Brad Schramm of Winner, president of South Dakota High School Baseball.

"We meet every year in October. Every year, it (the bat issue) comes up, and every year we decide to stick with the metal bats," he said.

"Why would we require a high school player to use something different from what they would use at the college level?" Schramm asked. "When the colleges change, then our high school teams would have to consider going to a wood or a composite wood bat."

Rapid City Post 22 coach Dave Ploof cited American Legion studies concluding that metal bats are no more dangerous than wooden bats.

"They've taken the juice out of the aluminum, so they're no different than wood bats," Ploof said. "All the bats have to meet certain specifications to be legal for American Legion baseball."

What Ploof is referring to is the Bat Exit Speed Ratio, or BESR, which is the hit ball speed, divided by the combined speeds of the pitched ball and the swung bat.

The NCAA, American Legion and most state high school associations, including South Dakota, require bats to be certified with a BESR of 0.728 or less, which works out to a ball speed of 97 miles per hour with a 70 mph pitch and a 70 mph swing, Schramm said.

But Dave Carlsrud of the North Dakota High School Activities Association in Valley City said players can generate more bat speed with aluminum than with wood, even though the two bats weigh the same.

"If you're a golfer, would you go back to a wood driver if you had swung a titanium one?" he asked.

"Bats are all tested on a machine, all swung at 70 miles per hour," he said. "Players can generate 5 to 7 miles per hour more speed with the aluminum bat."

Nowhere has the metal vs. wooden bat debate hit closer to home than in Miles City, Mont., where the American Legion Mavericks have played exclusively with wood since the July 2003 death of pitcher Brandon Patch.

Patch, 18, was struck in the left temple by a line drive during a tournament in Helena, Mont.

Conscious after the impact, Patch complained of a severe headache, then began bleeding from the ears, vomiting and convulsions.

He was airlifted to a Great Falls hospital, where he died five hours later.

American Legion baseball rules allow the use of approved bats made of either wood or metal, but the Mavericks have still paid a price for their decision to use only wood bats.

The Mavericks were suspended from Montana American Legion Class AA conference play for this season after forfeiting four games to the Bozeman Bucks.

The Billings Gazette reported that the Bozeman team, which had used only wood bats in games with Miles City the previous two years, wanted to use metal bats in league games with the Mavericks last year. The Mavericks stuck to their guns.

"We didn't forfeit just because they said they were bringing metal. We had two days notice and hadn't faced metal in two years," Maverick coach Matt Phillips said.

"I had a lot of concerns with the mental preparedness of my kids, and so I did the mature thing and asked them (Bozeman) not to waste their time in coming down," he said.

"The next thing I know I've got the New York Times calling me and it was a big mess," he said.

Miles City was also set to host the 2007 Montana-Alberta American Legion tournament, but Legion officials, citing the continuing metal vs. wood bat controversy, moved the tournament to Billings.

Even without conference play, the Mavericks and their junior varsity Colts have played in six tournaments and will play a combined 115 games this year.

"There's a lot of clubs that are willing to play us with wood, and we wouldn't have a season if they didn't, so we appreciate that," Phillips said.

The Rapid City Post 320 Stars have met the Mavericks five times this season, both at Rapid City's Pete Lien Field and at Denton Field in Miles City. The Stars won four of the five meetings - all played with wooden bats - including a 9-0 win over the Mavericks earlier this month at the Maverick's Newhouse Tournament.

"It's definitely an adjustment," Rapid City coach Jim Brandt said of the switch from aluminum to wood bats. "Not so much in the hitting, but in the feel of the balls hit. The balls aren't as fast."

"I like the wooden bats," said Brandt, "It just sounds better."

"Our kids have never complained once about using wood bats," said Phillips. "We're used to using wood, and I think overall we're better hitters for using wood."

North Dakota officials agree after their first high school season with wood.

"It brought us back to the true game," said coach Joel Swanson of Fargo Shanley High School. "We didn't have as many homers, but doubles and triples were almost doubled.

The defensive aspect of the game also changed Swanson said.

"We're more able to make plays, instead of playing self-defense against a rocket that puts kids back on their heels and they're just trying to knock down," he said.

The North Dakota decision to switch was made at a regional tournament two years ago, Swanson said.

The safety aspect, especially in the wake of Brandon Patch's death, was part of the discussion, but during the tournament two players were struck by batted balls.

One third baseman required surgery for a broken nose and cheekbone. The second pitcher was struck in the head, but was not seriously injured.

"Two inches higher and it would have hit him in the temple. Two inches over and it would have hit him in the eye. The ball landed in the outfield. It wasn't too hard to get a unanimous vote (to switch to wood bats) after that," Swanson said.

"We had some close calls, but thankfully no serious injuries," Carlsrud said.

Some college leagues including the MonDak Conference and Dakota Athletic Conference have also made the switch to wood, Carlsrud said.

"The power numbers aren't there with wood, but colleges know that a guy hitting .370 with wood is just as good as a guy hitting .425 with metal. They don't mind looking at those numbers and recruiting guys from those schools," Phillips said.

Brandt and Schramm said balls hit by wooden bats can also cause injury along with splinters from broken wood bats.

"You don't think it can happen with a wooden bat, but it sure can," Brandt said.

"There's going to be things happen, even with a wood bat," Schramm said. "That pitcher is only 60 feet away."

Phillips said while the metal vs. wood debate had brought attention to Miles City, the kids and the game are still the main focus.

"With the North Dakota high school thing taking place and the situation happening in New York City, it's getting more attention than it has," he said.

"I certainly don't feel not like we're out here by ourselves, not like we were a couple years ago."

"The kids are playing every day and they have a smile on their face and they don't have any control of what the board's going to do," he said.