No more metal bats in NYC

[E.J.]

ESPN[/url]"]NEW YORK -- Metal bats will be banned in high school baseball starting this September in the nation's largest school system after the City Council on Monday overrode a mayoral veto of the bill.

 

The measure outlaws metal bats under the theory that they produce harder and faster hits, risking injury to young players who have less time to react. Opponents, who include Little League Baseball and sporting goods makers, say there is no evidence metal bats are more dangerous.

 

Youth leagues and lawmakers are proposing similar bans in other areas, including New Jersey, where a 12-year-old boy went into cardiac arrest and suffered serious injuries after a batted ball struck him in the chest.

[LetsGoCubs89]

good, those things are way too dangerous. if they havent already they should ban them from the NCAA as well. i was hit with one when i was a kid, pitching. luckily it only his me in the leg because the way it was moving, it could have easily killed me had it hit me in the head

[FergieJ31]

It's fiercely debated because it's so difficult to reproduce actual field conditions in a lab.

 

The best study done to date is probably this one, which clearly showed significantly faster speeds off aluminum bats (which shouldn't surprise anyone):

 

http://webusers.npl.uiuc.edu/~a-nathan/pob/CriscoGreenwald

[FergieJ31]

A more readable account of the study I mentioned above:

 

http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/bats-new/alumwood.html

[treebird]

ESPN[/url]"]NEW YORK -- Metal bats will be banned in high school baseball starting this September in the nation's largest school system after the City Council on Monday overrode a mayoral veto of the bill.

 

The measure outlaws metal bats under the theory that they produce harder and faster hits, risking injury to young players who have less time to react. Opponents, who include Little League Baseball and sporting goods makers, say there is no evidence metal bats are more dangerous.

 

Youth leagues and lawmakers are proposing similar bans in other areas, including New Jersey, where a 12-year-old boy went into cardiac arrest and suffered serious injuries after a batted ball struck him in the chest.

 

really? they're really trying to convince everyone that there's no difference in safety? good luck with that.

[Derwood]

i hate the sound aluminum bats make. i'm scarred for life from having my bedroom window overlook the softball field at DePaul sophomore year. I woke up many a Saturday morning to aluminum batting practice

[ConstableRabbit]

WTG! I absolutely hate metal bats and they're extremely dangerous

[Dirt Dog Sparly]

Fantastic news. There are composite wood bats that will last all year and are cheaper than aluminum. I have two that are all bamboo and have the three oz. drop to length just like aluminum.

 

Kids will learn to pitch inside again, and will have to learn to hit with woods. :D

[Balsa]

Hopefully this spreads! Great news indeed!

[Abe Frohman]

The ultimate composit wood bat is the Baum bat. It is pretty much unbreakable, though it can happen. They hit, sound, and feel just like wood.

[hitamprun]

I played college ball in the early 80's, and used an aluminum bat. Back then, the technology was not near what it is today, and the difference between wood and aluminum was really nill. Today, the technology is similar to what they have done with golf clubs, and the trampoline effect is what really aids the initial velocity off of aluminum bats.

 

I think it would be a good idea to go with a composite bat type, that would reduce that initial velocity and reduce some of those line drives back to the pitcher.

[Soriano12]

Will this put NY HS Baesball players at a dissadvantage when competting for scholarships, or draft status?

[Soul]

Will this put NY HS Baesball players at a dissadvantage when competting for scholarships, or draft status?

 

Possibly, but I like the move because aluminum bats just plain suck. It's not baseball as we know it. The kids hate them too. I don't remember a single kid who wanted to hit with aluminum. Everyone wants to hit with wood. That's what baseball is.

[NewUserName]

One of the reasons I quit playing softball was because of the technology of bats. Everyone was hitting HRs.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Will this put NY HS Baesball players at a dissadvantage when competting for scholarships, or draft status?

 

Draft status? I doubt it. If a guy can succeed with a wood bat at the HS level, there's one fewer question about him compared to another kid who primarily has used aluminum.

[OleMissCub]

I played with aluminum of course in high school and college but also played with wooden bats in summer leagues during college. I definitely preferred the wooden bats.

 

Playing 1st the balls were hit, or seemed to be hit, a good bit softer with wooden bats. I used to be terrified playing in or charging in for a bunt against aluminum bats. I had a buddy who played 3rd base at Southern Miss and he charged in for a bunt and the batter slapped at it and the ball hit him right in the face and broke his nose, knocked his top teeth out, and gave him a concussion.

 

Hitting with wood was always preferable because I wasn't able to hit the ball as far as I did with aluminum. I was never a big slugger, so alot of the balls that would have been outfield fly's dropped in for hits.

[ConstableRabbit]

What is the reason why pros use wood and amateurs use aluminum and when did that start?

[XZero771679666304]

This is a good thing. As a pitcher, I can remember getting buzzed by liners that I had little or no chance to react to (and I have very good reflexes), and being grateful they weren't a little more on target.

 

I remember being on the mound once when a liner was hit so hard at our 3B that he barely was able to deflect from hitting him in the face. And he was playing well back.

 

Conversely, just about every homer I hit (and there weren't that many), were only homers because of the aluminum. But for scouts, going to wood bats would remove much of the ambiguity from analyzing power numbers.

[Bergy92]

wow - when I saw the title to this thread, I thought ARod was going to come back down to earth...

[Vinestal]

This is great, I hope it starts a trend. Id love to see them ban aluminum bats everywhere on every level. College would sure be more interesting if they used wood bats, they would basicly be very similar to the minors then.

[OleMissCub]

What is the reason why pros use wood and amateurs use aluminum and when did that start?

 

Pros use wood because they always have, so I guess it's tradition.

 

High Schools, Colleges, and all else use aluminum primarily because it's much cheaper to use than wood, which break often. I think aluminum bats came out around the late 70's.

[OleMissCub]

This is great, I hope it starts a trend. Id love to see them ban aluminum bats everywhere on every level. College would sure be more interesting if they used wood bats, they would basicly be very similar to the minors then.

 

Indeed. That's basically why baseball is the only major sport that has that "intermediate" level i.e. the minor leagues.

[Derwood]

they should let the pros use aluminum bats during the HR derby. Imagine how far Ortiz or Dunn could hit a ball with aluminum.....600-700 feet?

[Drew Doughty]

This is great, I hope it starts a trend. Id love to see them ban aluminum bats everywhere on every level. College would sure be more interesting if they used wood bats, they would basicly be very similar to the minors then.

 

Indeed. That's basically why baseball is the only major sport that has that "intermediate" level i.e. the minor leagues.

 

even though hockey has fallen by the wayside, they have the CHL/ECHL (AA), and the AHL (AAA). Though player development is tons different in hockey.

[jersey cubs fan]

This is great, I hope it starts a trend. Id love to see them ban aluminum bats everywhere on every level. College would sure be more interesting if they used wood bats, they would basicly be very similar to the minors then.

 

Indeed. That's basically why baseball is the only major sport that has that "intermediate" level i.e. the minor leagues.

 

even though hockey has fallen by the wayside, they have the CHL/ECHL (AA), and the AHL (AAA). Though player development is tons different in hockey.

 

Yeah, I don't think more wood bats is suddenly going to make college baseball more popular and minor league obsolete. I don't see how olemiss can back up his claim.