Metal Baseball Bats

[Gawain 0]

So, NYC has passed a metal baseball bat ban for the school district leagues there.

Why don't we force the kids to wear a dragon-skin kevlar-ceramic armor suit too.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[mnealtx 0]

Nanny-care cures for parental failures....

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[willard 0]

What was their reasoning? Cost? Could be used as a weapon? Ball comes off the bat much faster than off a wood bat? (Safety related?)
First i heard of it so I'm not familiar with the story.

[lawrocket 3]

No doubt that it is because of the injuries associated with the metal versus wooden bats.

Thanks to members of my profession, I don't think that there was any choice but to do it.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[JohnRich 4]

Story: http://www.kiplinger.com/apnews/XmlStoryResult.php?storyid=361713

[Stumpy 284]

I'm not that familiar with it but metal bats aren't allowed at the top end of the sport are they? whats the reason? Is it too easy to hit the ball a long way? (presumably thats not the case here!)

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[willard 0]

Kinda what I thought. It should be simple enough to test the idea. A test fixture to swing the bat at a ball on a tee. I know MLB doesn't allow metal bats for safety reasons, a stance that is confusing considering the number of broken wood bats that fly into the stands. However, I know there are a few pitchers who probably would have been killed outright if the ball that hit them in the head had been going a few mph faster.

[craddock 0]

Quote

I'm not that familiar with it but metal bats aren't allowed at the top end of the sport are they? whats the reason? Is it too easy to hit the ball a long way? (presumably thats not the case here!)

I take it you never played baseball but the ball speed is much, much higher of a good aluminum bat.

That spot isn't bad at all, the winds were strong and that was the issue! It was just on the downwind side.

[Royd 0]

Quote

What was their reasoning? Cost? Could be used as a weapon? Ball comes off the bat much faster than off a wood bat? (Safety related?)
First i heard of it so I'm not familiar with the story.

"The crack of the bat" sounds so much better from the announcer's booth than" the ping of the bat."

[kallend 2,182]

Quote

So, NYC has passed a metal baseball bat ban for the school district leagues there.

Why don't we force the kids to wear a dragon-skin kevlar-ceramic armor suit too.

If the playing field is level, why does it matter? Should a team win because it has better players, or because it has better bats?

Doyou have a problem with the MLB ban on metal and corked bats?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Aluminium bats were originally used for economic reasons; they don't break. I think it is a good rule just because they change the way you pitch to the batter. If you bust the guy inside he will muscle it over the infielder's head whereas if the bat is wood you usually break the bat and he is out if the ball is fair.

[willard 0]

If you want a level playing field then you go with wood bats. Modification..even for cheating purposes...is easy and cheap.
Aluminum bats are more expensive, often costing several hundred dollars, and the differences are very real between a $50 bat and a $300 bat even for an average Little League player. If you want it modified prepare to spend another chunk of change unless you have the skills and the equipment to do it yourself (most don't).
The differences aren't just in power but in reaction time and accuracy.
My opinion, for all the good it will do, is that if the city is worried about injuries and lawsuits then a switch to wood is best. If they are trying to cut costs then another option is league bats (aluminum) that are brought to the game by the umpires and are used by both teams...no privately owned bats would be allowed to be used in games.