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NYC Lawmakers Consider Ban On Metal Baseball Bats

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Oct 23, 2006 6:59 pm US/Eastern

NYC Lawmakers Consider Ban On Metal Baseball Bats

NEW YORK (AP) ― City Councilmembers on Monday called for a ban on metal baseball bats in high schools during a hearing that featured emotional testimony from the family of a Montana teenager who was killed in 2003 after getting hit by a ball ricocheting off an aluminum bat.

"Brandon didn't have a chance," said Debbie Patch, whose son died after being hit in the temple by a ball hit with an aluminum bat during an American Legion game for Miles City, Mont. "There was no way he could react."

Members of the council's Committee on Youth Services said aluminum bats are more dangerous than traditional wood bats because the batted ball travels faster. Researchers from Brown University, in a limited study on bat performance several years ago, found metal bats, overall, easily outperformed wooden counterparts.

"We should not accept an increased risk beyond that which is in inherent in the sport," said Councilman James Oddo, of Staten Island, the chief sponsor of a bill prohibiting the use of non-wood bats in city high schools.

But representatives of sporting goods manufacturers and the city Department of Education said there's no proof that wood bats are safer than the aluminum bats that have been used in youth sports for the last 30 years. Last year, American Legion's National Baseball Subcommittee, after a nine-month review that took into account studies and statistics from a range of sources, concluded there was no substantial scientific evidence to support argument that wood bats are safer.

Martin Oestreicher, the chief executive of the Office of School Support Services for city schools said, "We do not support this legislation because we do not believe the banning of aluminum bats will enhance the safety of our baseball players."

(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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