Picking Your Battles

The metal bat situation continues to change in different parts of the country

It’s enough to drive the industry batty. Pardon the pun, but bat makers, team dealers, leagues, coaches and players find themselves competing in the legislative halls of states, cities and towns, not to mention some court rooms, instead of between the lines. The ruckus is over continuing efforts to ban non-wood bats.


While not out of control, it has become a major thorn in the industry’s side as it puts out fires across the country. Usually reason wins over emotion, but there have been some successful efforts to limit play to wood bats.

Additionally, college baseball put a dent in metal bats when it issued a moratorium on the use of composite bats unless these bats can pass an NCAA-issued performance test. This was done after the NCAA discovered that the characteristics of composite bats change after these high-end bats leave the factory floor and static testing facilities. Consequently, the NCAA has formulated new rules, including a new testing standard that becomes effective in one year. High schools will follow. While the National Federation of State High School Associations is providing two years to ease in the new standard, it could and probably will cause confusion and inventory havoc for team dealers.

Team Insight caught up with Mike May, director of communications for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), to get a status report on the bat business. May also serves as the point man for the Don’t Take My Bat Away effort. The coalition of bat makers, baseball organizations, coaches, players and more are fighting conjecture and emotion with facts and figures to offset efforts to legislate the choice of bats.

Team insight: What’s the current state of efforts to ban metal bats around the country?

Mike May: Right now, there are a few hot pockets around the country where there’s an interest in banning non-wood baseball bats. The main areas of concern are the state of New Jersey and the city of Chicago, though in the last 18-24 months the issue has been discussed and resolved in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts, Virginia and Iowa.

In Pennsylvania and Illinois, the issue did get the attention of state legislators, but the baseball industry’s efforts, which were supported by players, coaches, parents and baseball administrators, were strong enough to repel any legislation. Currently in New Jersey, there’s a state legislator pushing a bill to ban the use of non-wood baseball bats. Without a doubt, New Jersey is the biggest area of concern in the country. In Chicago, there’s an alderman who is sponsoring similar legislation. ‘Banning the use of non-wood bats’ within the city limits of Chicago was the focal point of a public hearing this past February. Various figures in the baseball industry – such as Little League President Steve Keener, Easton’s Jim Darby, a Chicago-area Little League coach, and myself – travelled to Chicago to testify before members of the Chicago City Council. Based on the testimony presented that day, the aldermen who heard our testimony decided not to pursue the matter any further.

Has there been any feedback from areas that banned bats, such as New York City?

In New York City the ban only applies to high school baseball. Youngsters playing T-Ball and Little League can use non-wood bats and so can teenagers playing American Legion, young adults playing college baseball and adults who play amateur baseball. While the majority of coaches and players in New York City would prefer to have the games played with non-wood bats, it appears they are getting used to the game with wood bats. Broken bats, though, are a common occurrence.

While the New York City councilman who sponsored this bill said he did it for safety reasons, there’s no evidence that indicates that games with non-wood bats are less safe than games played with wood bats. The reason why is because current bat standards for youth bats and high school/college bats are working out well.

The only other significant area that doesn’t allow non-wood bats right now at the high school level is North Dakota. The reason why wood bats are used in North Dakota is because the spring weather can cause the non-wood bats to dent. It’s also worth noting that one of the main persons pushing this change to wood bats was a man who, at the time, was a professional baseball scout for the Tampa Bay Rays. As we all know, pro baseball scouts like to see potential pro baseball players swing a wood bat. This year, stories written by some journalists have questioned the logic of the non-wood bat ban in North Dakota.

What, if any, impact will the recent Hillerich & Bradsby jury award have on efforts to ban bats?

The court case in Montana, which involved Hillerich & Bradsby, has not reached a final conclusion so it’s difficult to say what the impact of the initial verdict will be. The case you are referring to involved an incident in 2003 where a pitcher in an American Legion game was struck in the head by a ball off a Louisville Slugger bat. Tragically, he died a few hours later.

In that case, the initial jury verdict had a good news angle and a bad news angle. The good news is that on the claim that Hillerich & Bradsby made a defective product, the jury found in favor of Hillerich & Bradsby and said “no.” As for the bad news, on the claim that Hillerich & Bradsby failed to adequately warn of the danger of the bat used in that 2003 game, the jury found in favor of the plaintiff. That’s where the contradiction lies in this case. That verdict left officials at Hillerich & Bradsby confused because the bat was made to specifications approved by American Legion Baseball, the governing body of that particular game that day in Montana. Officials connected with the game that day in 2003 have stated that what happened was a freak accident and that Hillerich & Bradsby is not at fault.

How is the industry combating the initiatives by consumers, consumer groups and legislators?

The baseball industry has formed a group called Don’t Take My Bat Away (DTMBA) to combat initiatives that are aimed at banning the use of non-wood baseball bats. It’s worth noting that DTMBA supports the rights of players to use the bat of their choice – either a wood bat or a non-wood bat. DTMBA has a Web site --- http://www.DTMBA.com – that is filled with facts and figures on the issue. Far too often, people make derogatory and inaccurate comments about non-wood bats. If you read DTMBA’s Web site, you’ll quickly get educated on the issue and you’ll see that there is no safety issue in baseball when it comes to non-wood bats.

How can team dealers and retailers help to fend off such efforts?

Team dealers and retailers should do themselves a favor and get educated about baseball bat standards by speaking with officials of the governing bodies that organize baseball such as Little League, PONY, Babe Ruth, the National Federation and the NCAA. Why? When coaches, players, and parents walk in the door to ask questions (as they get ready to spend money on a new bat), they will be able to address any concerns they have, specifically as they relate to differences between wood and non-wood bats.

There have been some significant changes in bat regulations on the college level. Please explain these and how this may affect future efforts to ban metal bats?

Right now, high school and college players use bats made to the same standard — BESR. That stands for Ball Exit Speed Ratio. In a nutshell, that means the exit speed of a baseball off a BESR non-wood bat is no greater than the exit speed of a baseball off the finest wood ash bat. Beginning on January 1, 2011, college players will start using bats made to a new standard known as BBCOR, an acronym for Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution. Starting on Jan. 1, 2012, all high school baseball will be played with a BBCOR-approved bat. The reason for the change, which was prompted by the NCAA, is because the NCAA wanted a more “wood-like” standard. USA Baseball plans do some field testing on the BBCOR (with actual players) in the early part of 2010 to see what kind of results they produce.

What should team dealers do to plan for these changes?

Fortunately, there are still two more baseball seasons for high school baseball and one more season for college baseball, which should give retailers and team dealers enough time to sell the BESR bats they have in stock before they start putting BBCOR bats on the shelf.

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