Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wood Bats should be used not Metal Bats
Today in Little League, High School and College baseball metal bats are used in the games. This is a total lose, lose situation. First of all it is very dangerous for the youngsters playing the game. This is especially true on the little league level where many of the children are not vry adept at fielding a batted ball. At this level their is a wide diversity of ability level between the participants. Some of the youngsters are very good and can hit a ball very hard, while others are not so good and have difficulty in fielding a ball. Those children are at risk even with a wooden bat but with a metal bat the ball is propelled at them at a much higher velocity thus giving them less time to react and causing a greater chance for someone to get hurt badly.
When you get to the high school and college level the ability of the players does equalize somewhat. You have to have a pretty decent ability to play baseball at this level. However the chance of getting hurt as a result of batting with a metal bat still is much greater than if it was a wooden bat. Some of the players have great power even at the high school level and definitely at the college level. When they hit the ball the increased velocity will cause the baseball to get to the pitcher or infileder in a shorter time period than if it was hit by a wooden bat. The fielder especially the pitcher has much less time to react and protect himself. Therefore he is more likely to get seriously hurt.
Major League baseball players have told me that in the majors pitchers would literally be seriously injured if not killed by using metal bats instead of wooden bats. They say for that reason it will never be used in the major leagues. But many College baseball pitchers throw almost as fast as major league pitchers and College batters are almost as big and strong as major league players so the danger at this level is great for a pitcher.
A college position player who gets used to batting with a metal bat will now have to adjust to a wooden bat once he gets into professional baseball. It is not helping him improve his skills by using a metal bat instead of a wooden bat at the college level. I have already covered the danger to a college pitcher so why use metal bats at this level? The answer that is given is that it is more economical to use metal bats than wooden bats. That arguement is totally ridiculous! First of all the amount of extra money it would cost at the little league, high school or college level is negligent compared to the other expenses of playing at that level. Secondly at any of these levels the cost can easily be absorbed by the league, sponsor, school or parents. What cannot be absorbed at any level of sports is endagering the athletes performing in that sport for monetary savings even if it was more than a nominal amount. I conclude it is time for all good people, coaches, parents, educators and school administrators to come forth and say no more metal bats in Little League, High Scool or College Baseball.
When you get to the high school and college level the ability of the players does equalize somewhat. You have to have a pretty decent ability to play baseball at this level. However the chance of getting hurt as a result of batting with a metal bat still is much greater than if it was a wooden bat. Some of the players have great power even at the high school level and definitely at the college level. When they hit the ball the increased velocity will cause the baseball to get to the pitcher or infileder in a shorter time period than if it was hit by a wooden bat. The fielder especially the pitcher has much less time to react and protect himself. Therefore he is more likely to get seriously hurt.
Major League baseball players have told me that in the majors pitchers would literally be seriously injured if not killed by using metal bats instead of wooden bats. They say for that reason it will never be used in the major leagues. But many College baseball pitchers throw almost as fast as major league pitchers and College batters are almost as big and strong as major league players so the danger at this level is great for a pitcher.
A college position player who gets used to batting with a metal bat will now have to adjust to a wooden bat once he gets into professional baseball. It is not helping him improve his skills by using a metal bat instead of a wooden bat at the college level. I have already covered the danger to a college pitcher so why use metal bats at this level? The answer that is given is that it is more economical to use metal bats than wooden bats. That arguement is totally ridiculous! First of all the amount of extra money it would cost at the little league, high school or college level is negligent compared to the other expenses of playing at that level. Secondly at any of these levels the cost can easily be absorbed by the league, sponsor, school or parents. What cannot be absorbed at any level of sports is endagering the athletes performing in that sport for monetary savings even if it was more than a nominal amount. I conclude it is time for all good people, coaches, parents, educators and school administrators to come forth and say no more metal bats in Little League, High Scool or College Baseball.
# posted by Al Lerner @ 8:17 PM
