Ex-White House Spokesman Now a Voice for Metal Bats
Ari Fleischer may have warmed the bench for his varsity baseball team at Fox Lane High School in Bedford, but the former White House press secretary is now at the center of a heated battle over baseball bats.
As a spokesman for the main organization fighting the city's ban on metal baseball bats from high school games, Don't Take My Bat Away, Mr. Fleischer fields questions on the dangers of metal bats (he says they're safe) and explains that he's a firm believer ("as a sportsman") in letting experts decide what equipment should be used on the field.
The ban is set to take effect in September, and a ruling on the organization's lawsuit against the city over the ban is expected by the end of the month.
When he worked in Washington, Mr. Fleischer played in a men's baseball league in Virginia that allowed metal bats. He said he batted around .300 at the time, but his average dropped to about .200 after he moved to Pound Ridge and joined a men's league in Westchester County that plays exclusively with wooden bats.
He said games played with wooden bats tend to be lower scoring and take less time.
"I get home to my wife and children faster," Mr. Fleischer said. But he added that the game is not as much fun.
In April, the City Council overrode a mayoral veto of the bat bill, arguing that metal bats are more dangerous than wooden ones because they propel baseballs farther and faster.
The sponsor of the bill, Council Member James Oddo of Staten Island, has said his fight against baseball bat manufacturers is much like the face-off between David and Goliath.
Mr. Fleischer started his own consulting firm, Ari Fleischer Communications, after leaving the White House in the fall of 2003 and would not say how much he is being paid to work for Don't Take My Bat Away, which represents baseball bat manufacturers and some players, parents, and coaches.
"There's no difference in safety," he said. "It's a decision that should be left up to the coaches, players, and not the politicians."
