Posted on 07/30/2007 9:06:00 PM PDT by gpapa
The first-base coach for the minor league Tulsa Drillers died last week after being struck in the head by a foul ball hit off a wood bat during a game in North Little Rock, Ark. The coach, 35-year-old Mike Coolbaugh, had played briefly in the majors in 2002 and 2003; he leaves a wife and two children.
His death adds to the debate about dangers in baseball, which usually focuses on young players struck by balls hit off aluminum bats. Supporters of metal bats insist that debate is skewed.
"Why is it when there's an injury from a ball hit from a non-wood bat, people blame the bat?" asks Jim Darby of Easton Sports, a leading bat manufacturer. "When there's an injury from a ball off a wood bat, people say that's part of the game."
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
If the bats were made from rubber or plastic, no one would get hurt.
Either way it is part of the game. Most of life has inherent risks. A life without risks would not be worth living.
He was hit in the neck, not the head.
I think it ruptured a blood vessel in his neck.
Because there are moonbat liberals everywhere. If fields were covered with foam matting, bats ere made of stiff foam, and the balls were NERF balls, nobody would get hurt, and everyone would have fun, IF nobody kept score and every one went home a winner. /s
Some people just like to friggin’ ban things.
shoot, aluminum... I just think kids should get baseball guns and shoot them where ever they want the ball to go...
Losers.
There are risks involved no matter the composition of the bat.
The topic of risk and injuries aside, I far prefer both the sound and feel of wooden bats. In fact I’m still using actual wooden (persimmon) woods on the golf course for the same reason. Just makes playing both games more enjoyable for me.
The real issue isn’t the bat, it’s the game.
If the field was a rectangle , and if there were eleven players on the field from each team, and if the players could *tackle* each other, then baseball wouldn’t be as dull as dishwater.
Getting killed by a foul ball almost seems preferrable to having to sit through the entire game.
I like where you're going with that! Especially if you could "tag" a player out by just hitting him (or her) with a launched ball.
I could watch baseball (and *not* fall asleep) with new and improved rules like that!
I could watch baseball (and *not* fall asleep) with new and improved rules like that!
Then you would love my idea for hockey. Edged Weapons!
I agree that there's something 'real' about a wooden bat, but on the other hand aluminum bats are less likely to break. I wonder whether it would be possible to make a composite bat that would handle (and maybe even sound) like a wood bat, but be less prone to breakage.
I agree that there's something 'real' about a wooden bat, but on the other hand aluminum bats are less likely to break. I wonder whether it would be possible to make a composite bat that would handle (and maybe even sound) like a wood bat, but be less prone to breakage.
Some of the new fancy composite metal (golf) woods sound/feel fairly close to real wood. ....although not quite. Expensive though. So I suspect similarly composed metal baseball bats wouldn’t be cheap either. And that would kind of defeat the purpose of going metal — saving money.
Easton wraps my "Protour X-10's" with carbon. Same, that is, almost arrow used in the olympics.
Protours are compound only.........not barrelled, just tapered.
In other words, if a fast moving object hits your head, hope for the best and tell your kin not to whine!
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Aluminum bats are more likely to cause an injury than a wooden bat because they transfer so much more force to the ball. It's also a pretty cheap way to give childen a false sense of self-esteem.
The state and cities that are passing laws to change the bat type is the appropriate level of government to be making those decisions. These are government/public school leagues. What is the 'conservative' position on who would decide what is appropriate or not? This is a Democracy.
If you want to start your own private league of babies who play with aluminum bats (try making them out of TI instead - then your little angel will be an even BETTER slugger!) go ahead. But if there is a liberal/conservative line here, your with Mayor Bloomberg and the rest of the lefties.
But what’s cooler than breaking a bat off of a fastball? Really.
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