Posted on 04/23/2007 1:44:34 PM PDT by RedCell
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.
In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed the bat ban earlier this month, saying the issue should be left up to those who run the youth leagues, not the government. But the City Council overwhelmingly knocked down the veto by a vote of 41-4.
"What we're trying to do is reduce risk," said Councilmember James Oddo, the sponsor of the bill.
Opponents argue that there is no scientific evidence proving metal bats pose a greater danger than wooden bats, and that the anti-metal movement relies on emotional anecdotes over concrete data. Some have said they plan to challenge the matter in court.
In 2005, an American Legion Baseball study found no substantial scientific proof to support the argument that wooden bats are safer than metal bats.
Adding a lead core could solve that "problem".
They’re all INSANE!!!!
I remember the screaming and yelling when wooden bats were replaced by metal bats,,,,, BECAUSE: wooden bats broke, and half the bat would fly down the field or baseline or hit a fan or, or, blah blah blah
Now metal bats are no good because they hit too hard? Well, the reason metal bats always sucked was because they didn’t hit hard enough.
IOW: Hey morons, use your liberal riddled skull stuffers and chose a bat, because baseball ain’t going away!
The reason these bats are so popular is because you can get a much lighter bat by using metal, if not for this advantage people probably wouldn't buy them, the wooden bats are much cheaper.
As far as breaking no they don't (Like wood) but they do dent which makes then just as useless at that point.
Come out and plaaaaaay.
I don’t think metal bats should be allowed by RULES (as opposed to law) anywhere. Metal bats make the most unnatural sound known to man. I know in my heart that its the very same sound heard 24/7 in hell.
They must not have ever played a game of baseball, or had a child play. Unbelievable!
Baseball bats should be made of wood. Period. The End.
I could care less about the safety aspects of either, but it ain’t baseball if you’re using an aluminum bat.
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