California lawmakers seek temporary ban on metal bats

chron.com ^ | May 5, 2010 | CATHY BUSSEWITZ

[wiggen]

I played arc softball for a few years(never liked it but its all there was) and there were a lot of those Japanese metal bats and i can tell you that yes,they’re dangerous. There’s nothing wrong with wood and a few miles an hour makes a huge difference especially top the pitcher just as a pitched ball going a few miles faster makes a difference to a batter.

[Steely Tom]

what a lot of time the legislature has on its hands. bats no less.

Yeah, it's good to know that the California legislature has nothing more important to worry about than the safety of schoolyard games that have been played for more than 100 years. What a problem-free paradise California must be.

[CanaGuy]

This wouldn’t have happened if every team member in the field were required to wear helmets, visors, chest protectors, shin guards and gloves on both hands. Sheesh, don’t blame it on the bat, those bats are great.

[ColdOne]

by then no one will be living in the state but the government. I think the state is just DAYS away from that!!!

[smokingfrog]

Yeah, but you have to cut down TREES to make wood bats. Aluminum bats are more environmentally responsible.

[bikerman]

I GOT IT Lets play NERF ball then nobody gets hurt.

[babygene]

Maybe they should just play softball in California and pitch underhanded... What a bunch of wussies.

[CORedneck]

Time for bat control ! < / sarcasm >

[JDoutrider]

Notice the case in point comes from Marin County!

Figures...

[Seaplaner]

The CA legislature, (esp the Dems of course) just wait for something newsy so they can pounce on it and get some ink for proposing controls. The leg staffs know, instinctively, that their job includes looking for things (newsy things) to regulate.

[BenKenobi]

Bats don’t kill people, people kill people.

[Goldsborough]

If you practice decent pitching mechanics that leave you in a good fielding position, you'll be able to at least knock down a liner back to the mound.

Allowing a pitcher to develop too much follow through, which looks for all the world like the momentary loss of balance it actually is, does him a disservice defensively.

Pitchers who win or who contend for Gold Gloves aren't flailing all over the hill and getting smoked in the noggin.

The sound of aluminum bats during hitting always irks me when I hear it, but lower level baseball would be pretty expensive without them. When I pitched HS ball, my main complaint about aluminum is that such bats enabled weaker hitters to still do something with pitches inside because the handle above the grip of the typical aluminum bat of the day was far more reactive than the shaft of a hardwood bat.

[calex59]

When I was in school baseball was dangerous with wooden bats(that's all we had). You got hit in the head with a line drive you were in deep do-do. Not to mention the splinters and odd pieces that came flying off the occasional broken bat.

Why don't the nanny staters just outlaw baseball, they will sooner or later. Have to make the world absolutely, 100% safe for the little darlings. Wouldn't want them to grow up into functional adults when we can raise a bunch of candy a**es now do we?/SAR