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But I don’t know what argument they can have that the bat manufacturer was in any way responsible.

The bats are indeed responsible for the accelerated speed but that's all. If there is any party to blame then it's on the parents of all little leaguers who want their kids to be home run hitters until their own little kid gets injured like this one.

I play a lot of senior softball and the two main governing bodies are the ASA and USSSA. The ASA has a "Banned Bat List" that is 3 or 4 pages long and each year keeps growing. USSSA's list isn't as long but it still is extensive.

Softball bats today have evolved beyond the metal bats and are now called "composits" since they are made out of carbon fiber. These bats can be made really "hot"....and manufacturers are now being forced to "dumb them down" so they can be used in ASA and USSSA league play

Here's the kicker tho, nobody I know wants to use the "dumbed down" bats but are forced to. The only reason the softball agencies now have such strict rules is to protect themselves and the leagues from potential lawsuits........So the whole industry suffers.

In the past, the main problem with the certification of the composit softball bats was that they were tested when new. They found out that after time, the bat didn't get "broken in" until upwards of 500 hits off of it. The resin holding the carbon fibers together would start to break down thus increasing the trampoline effect on the barrel of the bat which thus increased the speed of the ball beyond the 98mph limit.

Thats why many bats which met the original 2000 Certification standards have now been banned......That really pisses us off because many of us have those bats which typically cost between $200 and $300 and now we can't use them anymore for league play.......

My daughter plays travel fastpitch, and I have seen a lot more players get hit, both infielders and pitchers, in softball than I have in baseball. That is a result of both the hot bats and the coaches obsession of playing the corners in.

Even with the 98mph exit speed limit on softball bats it doesn’t seem to help, the ball still travels fast. I have also only seen the ASA officials check equipment twice, and once was because the bat was making a weird noise.

Kids getting hit is just the risk that they take when playing, but there should be some safety measures built in, as they are doing with bat restrictions. I’ve also seen rolled composite bats, and those are wicked.

And before anyone calls me a nanny-stater for wanting to restrict some of the equipment, go pick up a couple of bleeding kids with concussion and whiplash from the pitchers mound on a backboard, and then we talk again.