Friday, September 28, 2007

By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

HARRISBURG -- A state legislator from Luzerne County appears to have struck out in his effort to ban metal bats from youth baseball and softball leagues in Pennsylvania.

Rep. Mike Carroll, a Democrat and a Little League coach for eight years, submitted a bill calling for the use of only wooden bats in leagues where boys and girls who are 17 and younger play baseball and softball.

He said his fear, based on his years coaching his now 12-year-old son in Little League, is that metal bats (made of aluminum, graphite or other metals in different combinations) cause a batted ball to fly off too fast, and thus raise the chances of striking and injuring a player, especially a pitcher.

"Metal bats may be creating an unsafe condition," Mr. Carroll said. The House's Children and Youth Committee held a hearing yesterday on the bill, and heard nothing but opposition to it.

Stephen D. Keener, president of Little League International, and Stacey H. Stuck, an official of the Amateur Softball Association (for girls), strongly opposed the bill, saying there's no evidence that metal bats are more dangerous for young players than wooden bats. Mr. Keener said such a law would make it difficult to continue holding the world-renowned Little League World Series in Williamsport every summer, because youth leagues from around the nation still use metal bats.

"I've gotten over 100 letters and e-mails from people all over the state," said Rep. Louise Bishop, D-Philadelphia, committee chairwoman. "They don't like us taking their metal bats away. I don't think this [idea] has a prayer."

"I will oppose this bill," said Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster. "This is government reaching too far and trying to micromanage sports at the local level."

"I am tired of the General Assembly going where it doesn't belong," said Rep. Dan Moul, R-Adams.

Rep. Frank Andrews Shimkus, D-Lackawanna, praised Mr. Carroll, saying, "Mike's intention is to protect young people. He wanted to see a dialogue started and get people talking about this issue. He's gotten the people's attention."

And yet, Mr. Shimkus added, "I have to oppose this bill. The Little League's No. 1 priority is safety. [Bat use] is something we should leave to the Little League.''

Mr. Carroll said each team his son's team would play had one or two exceptional players who could hit a baseball very hard.

"This talent, combined with a very expensive metal bat, created a situation whereby a batted ball hit toward the pitcher traveled too fast for a defensive reaction by the pitcher," he said. He admitted he didn't have "any scientific data to support this legislation," but said his years working with the Little League "did not allay my concerns that the bats used today in youth baseball leagues are unsafe.''

Ms. Stuck said in her 30 years of experience with women's softball, injuries have been caused by collisions of players, by thrown balls or by slides into a base, but not by metal bats. She said she knows of no evidence that wooden bats are safer.

Since metal bats are used in every state, banning them in Pennsylvania would prevent teams from other states from coming here to compete, she said.

Mr. Keener said improvements in youth baseball bats and balls have been made in the last 15 years, all aimed at making the games safer for young players. In 1992, he said, 145 Little League pitchers needed medical attention after being hit by batted balls, but because metal bats and baseballs have been made of better materials, there have been 20 to 30 such injuries per year for the last three years.

Four teenage girls who play softball at Cedar Cliff High School in nearby Camp Hill also spoke against the metal bat ban.

"It will be harder to swing wooden bats because they're heavier," said Katie Gaul. "No one will play if they can't hit the ball."