Posted on 02/27/2008 10:46:07 AM PST by kc8ukw
It's been three decades now since the ping of aluminum started drowning out the crack of a wooden bat on youth baseball fields across America.
But that older sound of summer is making a comeback on some grassy diamonds these days — not for nostalgia, but safety. Some Illinois lawmakers, in fact, want to ban metal bats from youth baseball.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
The article also mentions that some youth organizations have voluntarily decided to ban them - not a problem.
Aluminum bats are easier to swing for kids. If they want to go to wood, they’ll have to use exotic woods, making the bats very expensive, or use smaller bats, making it harder to hit the ball.
Idiots the lot of them.
Illinois - YOU CAN’T HAVE FUN IN OUR STATE!!
Much as I despise aluminum bats, the government has no business here..................
Talk about legislators who would rather generate headlines than deal with real problems.
Case in point: Steroids in baseball. Instead of these dog-and-pony Capitol Hill show trials, why not just tell MLB to deal with the problem or lose their antitrust exemption?
I think the drug problem would be solved tout de suite!
On the other hand, banning them is not the government's job.
My son sure didn’t have any fun the summer he was hit in the by a baseball. Half an inch lower, it would have taken out his eye. He’s got a titanium plate in his forehead now.
Just saying.
I think they should ban aluminum bats, and ugly girls.
Are you suggesting that kids were unable to play baseball before aluminum bats came along?
Sorry to hear about your son's accident. I hope he's doing OK now.
...but the injury would have been the same whether an aluminum or a wooden bat was used.
People often don’t realize that aluminum bats are very different than they used to be. The way they are engineered has the ball coming off at such a rapid speed that pitchers cannot react fast enough to defend themselves. This is particularly true in the younger ages.
The better solution, however, is for the league to provide all bats and use only the lower tech bats.
Much as I despise aluminum bats, the government has no business here..................
Agree completely on both counts. My son nearly killed me ~10 days ago. I didn’t get behind that ‘L’ shaped pitcher net fast enough and barely got my glove hand up in time to prevent what would have been an ugly head shot. Pointer finger on my left hand is MUCH better,,,, and still it hurts to type those ‘FFF’s.
Alternative suggestion: Ban baseballs and go all-Nerf.
No, but I was referring to toddlers mostly.
Yep, I’ve seen orbital fractures occur with balls hit with wooden bats too. Wearing the wrap-around sports frame glasses can help protect against some of these injuries, plus they reduce glare, improve contrast, and look cool too.
I agree that the government should stay out of it, however there has been such a strong and antagonistic pro-aluminum coalition (supported by EASTON, etc.) that most youth leagues can’t effectively resist, much less change back to wood.
I fought the bat battle 10 years ago along with the NCAA, and you’d be amazed to see the lengths that aluminum bat manufacturers will go to “head these initiatives off at the pass”. It’s pretty disturbing stuff.
Aluminum bats are great ... unless your kid is a pitcher!
That’s happening in Slow pitch softball, too. I play in a church league, and everybody’s buying $300 bats that are made out of two different materials. I’ve seen a lot of weird injuries that I don’t think would have happened with normal metal bats.
When I pitched in HS and college I just threw inside or at the batter :) Maybe that’s why IO am here instead of on the big show, dang.
Professional baseball doesn’t use aluminum bats, so why use them in Little Leagues, schools and colleges?..........
Possibly not. The aluminum bat place more energy into the ball than the wooden ones, so the headshot may have been just a concussion..................
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