CA seeks temporary ban on metal bats

[ladiesbballcoach]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gbjEKMBEqPKZTYvYODrBojPduBcAD9FH389O0

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California legislative committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would place a two-year moratorium on the use of metal bats in high school baseball, responding to safety concerns that were raised when a Marin County teenager was severely injured earlier this year.

 

The moratorium would allow time for the bodies that govern baseball at the high school and collegiate level to review the safety of aluminum and metal bats, which some say are more dangerous than their wooden counterparts.

 

The March incident left Gunnar Sandberg, a 16-year-old pitcher for Marin Catholic High School, in a coma for weeks, and prompted the Marin County Athletic League to suspend the use of metal bats.

[ladiesbballcoach]

A 12-year old boy here in NKY had a similar situation occur and is recovering now. Kids are bigger and there needs to be a serious study of use of metal bats.

 

Baseball was a good game of strategy and talent when I grew up with wooden bats and it won't change the game too much.

[ladiesbballcoach]

Interesting comment from the article.

 

"To some extent, this is essentially a bat on steroids," said Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles. "If you have to give a steroid bat to a kid, if that's the definition of success, then I don't think we've been successful at defining success."

[NKYSportsNut]

A 12-year old boy here in NKY had a similar situation occur and is recovering now. Kids are bigger and there needs to be a serious study of use of metal bats.

 

Baseball was a good game of strategy and talent when I grew up with wooden bats and it won't change the game too much.

 

I am in agreement that this is very tragic. I don't see metal bats being outlawed though. It is true that a metal bat makes the ball go harder and travel farther, but it would be hard to find someone (IMO) that would say this same occurrence couldn't happen with a wooden bat. It seems like many things like this could happen. Say a rocket ground ball is coming at an infielder, takes a bad hop, and hits him in the face. Though unlikely this could have the same effects.

 

 

Just something that crossed my mind while reading...

 

 

"At some point you have to ask, are they telling the truth when they sell the bats, or are they telling the truth when somebody gets hurt?" asked Huffman. "Both can't be true."

 

 

I said to myself, were you against metal bats before your son got hurt or after? Just a question I felt should be brought up. :idunno:

 

 

 

Baseball is a great game, but in playing it (especially at the HS level and beyond) you are taking a risk. Getting hit by a pitch, taking a bad hop on a ground ball, getting spiked while covering a base, or God forbid getting hit by a line drive, it's all part of the game.

 

I hope this young man is alright.

 

 

Your thoughts?

Edited May 10, 2010 by NKYSportsNut

[nkuclubbaseball19]

I definitely don't think it would hurt to study them. If that means a 2 year ban of them, then by all means ban them for 2 years.

 

I was pitching in a game back in August where metal bats were in use. In my second inning of work, a batter hit a line drive right back at me. I almost got to it with my glove before it hit me in my thigh but I did not and therefore was left to use crutches for a few days. I am convinced that if they were wooden bats being used I would have been able to catch the ball and avoid a trip to urgent care.

 

I've said for years that I felt metal bats are dangerous. In addition to being dangerous I feel they don't make players really learn how to hit. The game was meant to be played with wood bats and I feel it should be. If a player wants to play in the major leagues they will need to learn to hit with a wood bat (it is an artform). Why not start learning in high school?

[ladiesbballcoach]

I definitely don't think it would hurt to study them. If that means a 2 year ban of them, then by all means ban them for 2 years.

 

I was pitching in a game back in August where metal bats were in use. In my second inning of work, a batter hit a line drive right back at me. I almost got to it with my glove before it hit me in my thigh but I did not and therefore was left to use crutches for a few days. I am convinced that if they were wooden bats being used I would have been able to catch the ball and avoid a trip to urgent care.

 

I've said for years that I felt metal bats are dangerous. In addition to being dangerous I feel they don't make players really learn how to hit. The game was meant to be played with wood bats and I feel it should be. If a player wants to play in the major leagues they will need to learn to hit with a wood bat (it is an artform). Why not start learning in high school?

 

On the point that I bolded and underlined and from the article.

 

It takes a lot more training for a player to successfully swing a wooden bat because it's heavier and requires more extreme precision, he added.

 

Opponents of the moratorium also argued that metal bats offer a way for less-skilled high school baseball players to engage successfully in the game.

 

"I'm more concerned with the young man at the high school level having the opportunity to play the game," said Guy Anderson, baseball coach for Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova.

[FarBeyondDriven]

Composite bats are even more dangerous. The more they are used, the hotter they get. I personally would love to see all levels of baseball go to wood bats.

[ft bronc]

There's another answer here: small barrel metal bats. My son had to use them out west in Little League, and there's a HUGE performance difference between them (2.25") and the big barrels (2.5-2.75"). The ball comes off the bat much more like a wooden bat, but the bat is light enough for smaller kids to swing them.

 

To me, it's the best of both worlds. They're safer, while still allowing kids to enjoy the game w/o fighting the weight of wooden bats, and the lower trampoline effect encourages better swing mechanics.

[gchs_uk9]

From a cost perspective, does anyone know what a typical, decent wooden bat would cost for high school age use?

[stickymitts]

Most ash are around $50-60 and Maple $90-110. Kids can get three or four bats for the price of one metal. Not sure what will happen with the price of wood bats if there is a nationwide ban on metal. Of course, demand will go up but there are a lot of deals that will be made between the state associations as well.

 

IMVHO metal bats will not go away because H&B, Easton, Mizuno, Rawlings, Nike, DeMarini...etc. have invested way too much into metal bat production and pay a ton into baseball associations at all levels.

[Getslow]

I also understand that, at least at the collegiate level, metal bats make the game really tough on pitcher's arms because the have to throw so much breaking stuff just to avoid getting rocked on a daily basis. You can't throw inside on a collegiate hitter because a bloop off the handle can go flying into the outfield.

[SilverStang]

I'm not joining either side of this issue, but isn't MLB currently looking into whether certain wood bats are safe - aren't they looking at the ash bats and whether they split or break and have caused multiple injuries. I guess my point is - there is nothing that is 100% safe. Rather than banning something, it seems to me it would be better to just regulate. I coach 8-9 year olds and some of the metal bats are -10 (big barrels) where KY High Schools only allow -3. If -3 are deemed to dangerous, then regulate back to where it is no longer dangerous. Most of the bats I've seen the factor is listed clearly on the bat.

[goallout25]

It is true that you can buy 3-4 wooden bats (if not more) for the price of a single metal bat. However, a single metal bat is going to allow you to make it through the entire season before that bat is retired, if not longer. With young kids learning to hit with wooden bats, they could go through a multitude of wooden bats therefore increasing the cost, especially when the inside fastball that they used to swing at with a metal bat and flare into the outfield for a hit now becomes nothing more than firewood.

 

I'm all for wooden bats across the board (especially since they separate the men from the boys as far as true hitters go), but when you can buy 2-3 metal bats to serve as "team" bats for an entire season, there is likely going to be additional costs that someone is going to have to bear. That could mean less kids going out for the team because their parents can't afford to cover the cost of bats and which could also mean that some of the smaller schools may not have enough players. Does the school then have to pony up money for the extra costs or should that fall on the kids? Just throwing ideas out there.

 

In the end though, the safety of pitchers and players outweighs all cost issues and that is something that I am sure will be considered by all making the decisions.

[nkuclubbaseball19]

I'm not joining either side of this issue, but isn't MLB currently looking into whether certain wood bats are safe - aren't they looking at the ash bats and whether they split or break and have caused multiple injuries. I guess my point is - there is nothing that is 100% safe. Rather than banning something, it seems to me it would be better to just regulate. I coach 8-9 year olds and some of the metal bats are -10 (big barrels) where KY High Schools only allow -3. If -3 are deemed to dangerous, then regulate back to where it is no longer dangerous. Most of the bats I've seen the factor is listed clearly on the bat.

 

I believe they are looking at Maple bats because of the propensity of the barrel snapping off and flying at the pitcher. However I am willing to bet (don't know the true numbers) that the number of injuries between maple breaking and metal bats are apple and oranges.

[LoveTheGame33]

It is true that you can buy 3-4 wooden bats (if not more) for the price of a single metal bat. However, a single metal bat is going to allow you to make it through the entire season before that bat is retired, if not longer. With young kids learning to hit with wooden bats, they could go through a multitude of wooden bats therefore increasing the cost, especially when the inside fastball that they used to swing at with a metal bat and flare into the outfield for a hit now becomes nothing more than firewood.

 

I'm all for wooden bats across the board (especially since they separate the men from the boys as far as true hitters go), but when you can buy 2-3 metal bats to serve as "team" bats for an entire season, there is likely going to be additional costs that someone is going to have to bear. That could mean less kids going out for the team because their parents can't afford to cover the cost of bats and which could also mean that some of the smaller schools may not have enough players. Does the school then have to pony up money for the extra costs or should that fall on the kids? Just throwing ideas out there.

 

In the end though, the safety of pitchers and players outweighs all cost issues and that is something that I am sure will be considered by all making the decisions.

 

Try covering the cost of neurosurgery! I'm sure any parent would prefer the bat cost. Your ending statement hits the point that I hope they make this decision on!