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Volume One, Issue 28, March 30 - April 05, 2007
On the Street
Calling strike three on use of metal baseball bats
By Esther Martin
On March 14, the New York City Council passed legislation banning the use of non-wood bats in high school baseball games in response to concerns about safety. Although Mayor Michael Bloomberg has yet to weigh in on the issue, the Council passed the ban, which would be effective Sept. 1, by a margin of 40–6, rallying enough votes to override a mayoral veto.
In New Jersey, a State Assembly committee voted in October to approve a bill banning metal and metal-composite bats from league and school baseball games played by children 17 and younger. (The full Assembly and the Senate have yet to vote on it.) The North Dakota High School Activities Association banned non-wood bats, effective this spring. But New York is poised to be one of the first cities to enact legislation banning non-wood bats.
Proponents of the ban, which was sponsored by Staten Island Councilmember James S. Oddo, claim that balls fly off metal bats faster than off wood ones, leaving young pitchers more vulnerable to injury. They cite several high-profile cases, including in 2003, when 18-year-old Brandon Patch, from Montana, was killed by a line drive that came off of a metal bat and flew straight into his right temple. Last June, in New Jersey, a 12-year-old boy was struck in the chest and sent into cardiac arrest; spectators were able to revive him, but he remained in a coma for several months.
The metal bat industry, led by leading bat maker Easton Sports, of Van Nuys, Calif., has come out in full-force against the ban. Some local players and coaches are also skeptical, citing safety and expense. A varsity high school team from the Bronx, Mount St. Michael’s, brought 12 new wooden bats to practice last week; by the end of the session, only six were left. Not only did the team waste $75 per broken bat, but flying shards also became a hazard: A catcher from St. Michael’s was nearly hit in the eye by a sharp wood shard when a wood bat exploded.
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“I think the metal bats are fine, you know? A lot of times the wood bats break. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s possible that the metal bats give a little more “oomph,” but I think it was just a freak accident that [the 12-year-old in New Jersey was struck by a ball off a metal bat] happened. The wood bats break so often, you know? And they’re costly!”
— Dominick Morea, 72, retired teacher from Chelsea Tech who attends many of the varsity team’s games |
“Probably what will happen is that Bloomberg will veto it. Wood bats break, and a broken bat can hurt somebody just as much as a ball can. And if you read the Sunday New York Post, St. Michael’s in the Bronx, they had a practice where they broke, like, 50 bats at $75 each!”
— Joe Munoz, 57, coach of Chelsea Tech’s varsity baseball team |
“I don’t like that decision because everybody’s used to this. I’ve been playing with a metal bat since I was 5. It ain’t affecting nobody. So, I believe they shouldn’t [enact the ban]. We all doing good, nobody’s getting hurt, everybody’s just playing baseball, so why change it now? Even as a pitcher, I don’t feel like it’s more dangerous.”
— Ariel Polanco, 16, sophomore at Chelsea Tech who pitches and plays shortstop and 2nd base for the varsity baseball team |
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“Well, I understand the City Council cares about safety, but it would cost the schools money to replace the metal bats, and it’s easier to break a wood bat, so I would think that they would have to replace them more often. Most schools don’t even have that much money probably. They need it for books, you know, and hopefully, they won’t be replacing no sports programs because they get too expensive.”
— Joel Cabrera, 16, junior at Chelsea Tech who plays outfield for the varsity baseball team |
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“I think it might be much ado about nothing. There’s really not that much more danger to using metal bats over wood. Either way, baseball is a dangerous game, and if you get hit with a line drive off of a wood bat, you’re going to get hurt as well. I also think that the City Council needs to consider the fact that for a lot of the teams around here, wood bats will be more expensive, since they break. This year I’m very fortunate to say that my school footed the bill for everything, but this is the first year in the five years that I’ve been coaching that I’ve had a school pay for everything.”
— Craig Zimmerman, 36, coach of Bayard Rustin’s varsity baseball team
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“I think the ban is bulls**t, because it doesn’t matter what bat you use, you know? That’s why you have gloves, and that’s why you practice. You practice more, you get better.”
— Kenssy Quesada, 16, junior at Bayard Rustin who plays 3rd base on the varsity baseball team |
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— Samuel Carrion, 15, freshman at Bayard Rustin who plays 2nd base for the school’s varsity baseball team
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