Aluminum Bats May Go Way of Trans Fat

The City Council, already one of the nation's leaders in the attempt to ban trans fats in restaurants, may be first in the country to ban another potential safety hazard — aluminum baseball bats.

On Monday, the City Council will hold a hearing on legislation that would allow only wooden bats be used at high school baseball games.

An earlier version of the bill was rejected in 2001 by the Youth Services Committee, which was not convinced that aluminum was more dangerous than wood.

With a revised bill in hand, and several recent aluminum bat-related injuries adding urgency to the cause, the Republican leader of the council, James Oddo, said he expects the bill to receive more support this time around.

The new bill is co-sponsored by the chairman of the committee, Lewis Fidler, who opposed the bill in 2001 because it also would have applied to Little League teams.

Older, stronger children, who throw faster and hit harder, are the real players at risk when aluminum bats add steroid-like power to their game, according to Mr. Fidler, who supports the aluminum bat ban only for high schools.

Mr. Fidler said he anticipates a vote shortly after the hearing on Monday, and expects the bill to pass.

A spokesman for the baseball bat manufacturer Louisville Slugger, Rick Redman, said the company does not plan to accept an invitation to testify at the hearing.

"We are for player choice in bats," Mr. Redman said. "The statistics show that there is not an increase in batted ball injuries with non-wood bats, and we're not really sure what the issue is. We don't see any need for change."

"It is intrinsically logical that baseballs are hit harder and faster by aluminum bats," Mr. Fidler said in a statement released yesterday.

According to the executive director of the National High School Baseball Coaches Association, Ron Davini, "there is no safety issue here whatsoever."

Aluminum bat manufacturers are already limited by regulations, Mr. Davini said. "New York is really not helping baseball at all," he said.

Mr. Oddo said he agrees that the passage of the bill in New York would change the national pastime across the country, but for the better. "When we pass this bill, it will create a tidal wave and you'll have independent testing of the bats so they perform like wood," he said.