Metal Bat Ban Plan Draws Protests

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Three governing bodies of amateur baseball sent letters to all 51 city council members this week protesting the proposed ban on metal bats in high school baseball in New York City. A vote on the issue may come by the end of the year.

Proponents of the metal bat ban cite what they contend are safety hazards for amateur players caused by the faster exit speeds of baseballs struck by aluminum bats. Now USA Baseball, Leaders of the American Baseball Coaches Association, and Protect Our Nations Youth have entered the fray, quoting studies that they say show that a safety issue does not exist, and arguing that the ban makes the national pastime appear exaggeratedly dangerous.

“Our office has not received one complaint from a coach concerning the performance or the safety of this bat in over two years,” the executive director of the American Baseball Coaches Association, Dave Keilitz, writes. “The data and our experience clearly demonstrate that the game is safe with aluminum bats,” the president and CEO of Protect Our Nation’s Youth, Abraham Key, writes.

The executive director of USA Baseball, Paul Seiler, writes that in a two-year study of NCAA college baseball leagues and college summer leagues, there are only 32 injuries recorded after 331,821 balls were hit into play. USA Baseball oversees all amateur baseball in the country.

A City Council member from Staten Island, James Oddo, who has been leading the campaign against metal bats said he was unimpressed by the letters. “It just goes to show the incestuous relationship between these organizations and the bat manufacturers,” Mr. Oddo said. “The bat manufacturers, the sporting goods, PONY Baseball, little league baseball, they’re partners in this industry. This is tantamount to the bat industry writing these letters.”

The bill banning metal bats is co-sponsored by Mr. Oddo and the chairman of the Youth Services committee Lewis Fidler. It has gained the support of 36 cosponsors in the City Council, which is a majority of the body’s members.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use