I’m a big baseball fan and, like a large portion of kids, played little league baseball through middle school. I was never a star, but was a decent catcher and first baseman. As I got older, I looked forward to when I made it to what Fairfax County referred to 7th grade when we moved up to the big league sized baselines and being able to use bats with a slightly bigger barrel.
The change of bats was really neat because it supposedly made it slightly easier to hit the ball (at the time I didn’t really consider that the pitchers would also be throwing the ball faster). The discussion about the bats, however, also included some people who questioned whether we should be using metal bats. This was being debated because the aluminum allows the ball to be hit harder and it’s been suggested that this has resulted in some unnecessary injuries. According to an article published on the LA Times website, it appears as though that debate is still taking place.
Some people say a ball comes off an aluminum bat with more force than off a wooden bat, making aluminum bats unsafe for kids. The issue has gained traction in some city councils and state legislatures. New York City last year banned metal bats from use in high school baseball games. And a bill is before the Illinois state legislature that would make it illegal for any adult to knowingly allow the use of an aluminum bat during a recreational baseball or softball game in which a person under age 13 is a participant.
Despite these allegations, USA baseball has stated that not only are aluminum bats not more dangerous than wooden bats but they don’t hit the ball any harder or faster. Now it could perhaps be the fact that I have grown up with the assumption that metal bats hit the ball harder and seemed to experience this while playing baseball, but I don’t believe that wooden bats hit the ball just as hard as aluminum ones do.
At the same time, I don’t think aluminum bats should be banned among the younger leagues. When kids are learning to play baseball, they aren’t as strong and could use the extra boost in batting power. It’s once the players begin to really develop their strength (in middle school and high school) that I believe the powers that be should consider banning the use of metal bats. Those are just my thoughts, though. What does everyone else think?
Filed under: Virginia Politics
It’s a little odd that this conversation is being started just a year after Paula Miller had a bill in the General Assembly addressing this matter. So many people thought it was a non-issue that she pulled the bill.
Hopefully, she might re-introduce the legislation to bring this matter up again.
The only defense of metal bats for baseball or softball that makes much sense is that they don’t break as easily as wooden bats. That makes some people believe it keeps costs down.
But I’m not even sure that is true in the long run.
However, there’s no doubt in my mind that the ball comes off of a metal bat with more speed. Which means players, especially pitchers, are more likely to get hurt. So, I would be happy to see metal bats banned from both sports.
Who the Hell ever enjoyed hearing the first “tink” of a bat during Spring?
I represent a coalition in the baseball industry known as Don’t Take My Bat Away, which is supported by players, coaches, fans, parents, bat makers, and associations such as USA Baseball, Little League Baseball, and PONY Baseball, among others. It is a group that supports “bat of choice” when it comes to selecting the type of bat one uses in a Little League, recreational, high school, American Legion, or college baseball game.
The implication that using today’s non-wood/metal bat presents a safety issue has no validity. The following third-party research below supports that conclusion:
1) Since 2003, metal bats used in high schools and colleges have been scientifically regulated so that the speed of the batted balls off metal bats is comparable to that of the best major league wood bat. This standard has been adopted by the NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations. The standard is known as BESR.
3.) Bats used at the Little League level are governed by the BPF standard which dictates that the rebound effect of the ball off non-wood cannot exceed the rebound effect of the ball off wood.
3) A 2007 study on the “Non-Wood vs. Wood Bats” by Illinois State University concluded that “there was no statistically significant evidence that non-wood bats result in an increased incidence of severity of injury.”
4) In 2002 (before the current standards were implemented), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated “Available incident data are not sufficient to indicate that non-wood bats may pose an unreasonable risk of injury.” (April 5, 2002) Obviously, since then, new regulations have been put in place to reduce the performance ability of bats even more!
One other point to consider: In the 2006 College World Series (where a metal bat by today’s standards was used), the batting average in all games was .277, the average number of home runs per game was 0.82, and the average number of runs per game per team was 5.2. In the 2006 American League season (where a wood bat was used), the batting average in all games was .275, the average number of home runs per game was 1.12, and the average number of runs per game per team was 5.2. As you can see, it’s virtually identical — with different types of bats.
For those who think or feel the ball exit speed off metal is greater than off wood are totally misinformed and basing their opinions on pure anecdotal observations!
Finally, I encourage you to visit our website (www.DTMBA.com) for more information on this “wood vs. non-wood” bat topic.
Sincerely,
Mike May
Don’t Take My Bat Away
6650 West Indiantown Road — Suite 220
Jupiter, FL 33458
p: 561.427.0657
mmay@sgma.com
Metal and composite bats are designed to limit the speed at which a batted ball comes off the bat. If you look at the literature on recent testing, the speed at which a ball leaves a metal bat is the same as a high level wood bat. Little League Baseball keeps injury statistics which show no more injuries due to metal bats. Lets not ge hysterical with what we “think” can happen, look at the recent testing and statistics and make a reasoned decision.
Mr. May has his facts wrong, which is not good, because he is the chief spokesman for the bat manufacturers.
Little League’s BPF bat safety test measures the trampoline effect of a non-wood bat, which occurs when hollow bats squish and rebound to propel the ball.
Solid wood bats do not compress and propel the ball. Their BPF is slightly greater than 1.00.
LL bats are allowed to perform up to the BPF 1.15 limit, which means that LL bats can have 15% more trampoline effect than a wood bats.
Large barrel kids bats are not governed by any performance regulations whatsoever–not BPF, not BESR, not anything.