Should Aluminum Bats be Outlawed?

Question

The State of NY has outlawed aluminum bats for high school players. Their reasoning to me is sound. The ball comes off the bat harder and faster. I think they should be outlawed in little league games. The funny part is you can look like a Behemoth with an Aluminum bat and a Mendoza line hitter with wood. ESPN has a story on it. read it and comment

Nacnud: Aluminum bats DO break. i've seen it first hand. Now, does it happen often? No, but it does happen and they are like missles.

I stand corrected on the fact of the City, not State, of New York

Here's the real point folks. Metal bats are used up until College, YOu don't use metal in the majors so why use them at all? You have inflated averages, home runs, base hits, rbis. Please, do not tell me they aren't. That's ludicrous to even think it.

Answer 1

It only NY city that has outlawed them, not the whole state. It seems this is a kneejerk reaction with little basis in science. The link below references a nice article onthe subject and comments on a 1999 redesign of aluminum bats to reduce the performance/bounceback.

I seem to recall safety being the concern when the switch was made from wood to aluminum. Broken bat pieces were responsible for a few injuries then and now. A triple A guy had his arm broken a couple of year back and i seem to remember someone getting hit in the throat a long time ago

Answer 2

You need to get your facts straight. The state of New York has not banned metal bats for high schoolers; the city of New York has.

And no, metal bats aren't any more dangerous than wood bats. USA Baseball, which includes Little League, American Legion, Babe Ruth, and other youth baseball organizations, requires that metal bats do not exceed the performance factor of wood bats.

A current study of batted-ball injuries in NCAA baseball has found that out of 331,821 batted balls put into play, only 32 injuries resulted.

Further, since record keeping began in the 1960s, only eight Little Leaguers have ever been killed by a batted ball. Six of those balls came off WOOD BATS. The other two balls came off metal bats in the early 1970s, before metal bat standards were adopted.

And, the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research has found that there have been only 15 catastrophic baseball injuries related to batted balls since 1982 in high school and college baseball. More than 9.5 million kids have played high school and college baseball since 1982.

Answer 3

Aluminum bats can be manufactured to be closer to wood in terms of performance. Instead of outlawing them, they could be regulated to ensure that minimal margin of safety.
My personal feeling is that they should be outlawed after the high school level. This would impact fewer programs, and keep the costs down a little for the high schools.

Answer 4

There has been several different studies done on aluminum bats, and yes they are dangerous. The pitcher is vulnerable enough with a wood bat, but the metal bats can kill. They began using metal because wood became expensive, now aluminum and ceramic bats are much more costly than wood. There is no good reason to keep using them.

Answer 5

there was debate on it in my state a couple years ago, my brother was strongly against the outlaw and then ironically he was pitching and had a line drive hit at him his senior year of high school, hit him in the knee and shattered his knee cap into something like 6 or 7 pieces which he has had to have several surgeries to repair

the problem with doing metal composites that hit with wood is that manufacturers will develop materials that get through loop holes, i think all wood is the only way to go. and they arent that expensive, theyre way cheaper than high performance metal bats

Answer 6

For their high school players? Yeah, their reasoning with the safety of their players makes all the sense in the world. The Little League here in town will NEVER use aluminum, they're afraid of not only the bounceback of a hit to another kid in the head, chest or elsewhere more damaging, but their accessibillity for temper flares, not only with the players themselves, but the adults as well.

Professional players are paid big money to take the risk if that's what they want.

Answer 7

Wood bats are CHEAP, buy them by the case,much les than the 4-5 $300 bats every team has.

YOu have said enough to change anyones mind, anyone that is listening. No more aluminum.

If we can get pennsylvania to ban aluminum bats we may change all of little league, due to where the LL finals are held.

Answer 8

It will cause some high schools to drop their baseball programs due to lack of funds to buy wooden bats that break. Aluminum bats do not.

Answer 9

My opinion personally is outlaw aluminum bats. It just isn't baseball unless the bats are good old Hickory bats.

Answer 10

they should be outlawed. kids are way to stong and the ball comes off the bat way too fast. i've seen many times pitcher's getting nailed and i also got hit a couple times on the mound. i'm glad they are setting up this rule in NY