Chicagoist: Alderman Proposes Ban on Metal Bats for Youth Baseball

clarenceweatherspoon

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:59:11 -0600

A ball comes off a metal bat a lot faster than a wooden one. All of the date that states there's no difference were conducted with balls thrown from pitching machines to STATIONARY bats. When the bat is in motion, big difference. That's true, one can swing an metal bat much faster than a wooden one, especially the specially weighted ones, and that leads to a higher risk of injury from batted balls. However, this difference in the speed of the batted ball is largely negated by the fact that metal bats tend not to disintegrate/crack in half, sending debris all over the infield. The injury risk is the same between wooden and metal bats, but the sources of these injuries are not. The best solution to protect kids from all this debris is a facemask for pitchers and possibly the corner infielders, especially since Little League diamonds are so small. But that's not cheap either...

Stealth

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:59:34 -0600

That's not to say that the City Council should be dealing with this issue. is this why they cut the number of bootable parking tickets from three to two? to generate more revenue for this?

jmagic

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:59:22 -0600

outlaw cleats too while you're at it. we don't want those little buggers coming into second base with their spikes up high! /Ty Cobb

Stealth

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:58:49 -0600

Notwithstanding the various studies showing that wooden bats are no safer than metal ones, A ball comes off a metal bat a lot faster than a wooden one. All of the date that states there's no difference were conducted with balls thrown from pitching machines to STATIONARY bats. When the bat is in motion, big difference.

PumaConcolor

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:54:20 -0600

Wooden bats are just a stop-gap. Ultimately, it's NERF or nothing!

clarenceweatherspoon

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:00:53 -0600

Notwithstanding the various studies showing that wooden bats are no safer than metal ones, wooden bats generally are more expensive than metal bats and they need to be replaced more often. Baseball is already a very expensive sport for parents/youth leagues to handle; this expense is one of the reasons for the decline in youth baseball compared to basketball and soccer. This ban certainly won't help with that, but as long as the people in charge can argue "AS LOOOONG AS ONE CHILD IS SAVED OMGGGGG, IT'S WORTH IT!!!1", despite all statistical evidence to the contrary it will probably become law by Jan 1, 2010.

UTV

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:52:19 -0600

So NY didn't listen to the "metal bat industry’s dire predictions"? Isn't this how Rome fell, people?

heyrocc

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:48:28 -0600

hmmm...january-june 291 murders or kids playing baseball with metal bats..glad to see the city council choosing to tackle the important, tough issues

Ward Up

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:46:33 -0600

More dopiness from our high-paid, do-nothing aldermen. I agree that they should go back to wooden bats, but that's not an issue for the Daley bootlickers in the City Council.

Seanfeld

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:20:20 -0600

Not sure how I feel about this. We used metal bats as kids with no problems and I am unaware of the technology used in today's little league bats. I do play softball though and if the little league bats are anything like the softball bats they make today especially the illegal according to ASA rules ones with double walls and triple flex and composite technology it could be a serious problem because the ball flies off those bats at speeds that are truly unsafe, a problem that would not have existed until recently. Is anyone aware of what types of metal bats are allowed in little league currently are they actually dangerous? I think this can easily be regulated by a body other than the city council. Metal bats are not a problem if they are not overdone and they can be approved by little league or some other body the city council would be just in looking into it and pushing relevant organizations to properly regulate this area short of banning all metal bats. Metal bats make the game a lot more fun most kids because they are lighter and not every kid can swing a wood bat well.

mss2400

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:03:24 -0600

Nanny state strikes again. I warned people that more stuff like this would happen once they banned smoking.....

Stealth

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:55:22 -0600

This IS city business. The kids killed by metal bats of today are the non-revenue generating parking meter violators of tomorrow...

matilda

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:37:48 -0600

Yet our city leaders still refuse to investigate the CTA; conduct oversight of TIFs; more seriously question hiring practices; offer any strong ideas about how to counter the rising crime rates ... I heard a kid once broke his hand wanking. Expect a ban on jergens lotion and pornography very soon. Pretty much sums up local government. Except for the hire my cousin part.

Navin

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:32:39 -0600

There are a lot of thuggy teens in my neighborhood who like to carry around metal bats too. I don't think they're playing America's pastime though...

Shannon

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:26:09 -0600

Albany: was the kid from New York?

Albanyparkour

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:23:41 -0600

Fact? Studies? No, we need panicked emotional response to outliers incidents! I heard a kid once broke his hand wanking. Expect a ban on jergens lotion and pornography very soon.

whymustiregister

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:20:25 -0600

Hey Alderman, if you really have nothing better to do, I have some leaves that need to be raked.