Lethal Weapons? Safety of Aluminum Questioned

Editor's note: This is the second of a three-part series as area coaches and players consider the risks of aluminum bats compared to wood ones. On Monday, coaches, players and a scientist from NJIT examined how each type of bat can alter the game. On Wednesday, the series will conclude with a look at how a change to wood bats—like the move made in North Dakota in 2007—would impact New Jersey.

In the summer of 2007, those involved with Essex County American Legion Baseball decided to switch from aluminum bats to wood, citing safety concerns.

This came on the heels of a tragedy in Wayne where a then 12-year-old pitcher was struck by a line drive in a Little League baseball game in 2006 and made everyone's worst nightmare become all too real.

Steven Domalewski was on the mound when a line drive struck him in the chest, stopping his heart. Domalewski went into a coma for several weeks and now suffers from brain damage. His parents have filed a lawsuit against the bat company, Little League Baseball and the sporting goods chain that sold the bat.

As a result of his injuries, Domalewski cannot speak, stand, walk, eat or even use the bathroom on his own.

Domalewski's injury sent shock waves throughout the state and the nation in the months following the incident. Safety concerns and the power of aluminum bats were questioned.

"I don't think it was being discussed as much before. I don't recall getting any calls about this," said Larry White, head baseball official for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. "It's sort of like you don't talk about the bad intersection until there's accidents and death."

Even before Domalewski's accident, the issue of safety had been a concern across the country, especially with the increased size and strength of players coupled with improved equipment. 

In 2007, North Dakota became the first state to make the switch to all wood, following the death of Brandon Patch, who was killed in Montana after the pitcher was hit with a line drive. Since then, non-wood bats have also been banned in New York City.

After Domalewski's accident, State Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan, of the 18th District, proposed a bill entitled Steven's Law, which would ban aluminum bats throughout the state for all players in organized sports under the age of 18.

The bill remains pending and will expire if it is not voted on before 2011. According to the bill, 15 deaths occurred from balls hit from non-wood bats between 1991 and 2001, while only two deaths occurred from balls hit off wooden bats during that period.

"It is a complicated issue and I don't believe that anyone has less-than-noble motives," Diegnan said. "There is no dispute that metal bats increase power, which is what kids want, but when it is recommended that the pitcher, first baseman and third baseman wear heart guards, the facts speak for themselves. It is awful to say, but I really think it will take one or more tragedies to convince folks of the need."

However, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the statistics are not quite as stark. It states there were 17 deaths from batted balls during the same period, but eight of them were from non-wood bats, two from wood and the others are not specified.

Still, at least one area coach feels aluminum bats can be deadly.

"I think someone is going to get killed one of these days with aluminum," South Orange/Maplewood American Legion coach Bob Drechsel said. "It's the bat companies that control this."

Drechsel may have a point. Every coach interviewed has said that the bats today are significantly advanced from the ones used even as recently as a decade ago.

Even the names of the bats are suggestive: Don Mattingly's "BEAST Youth Composite Baseball Bat," the Combat Da Bomb line of bats, Easton's "Stealth Speed" bats and the "Vendetta" baseball bats.

However, Mike May, spokesman for the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, said bats are are not the primary cause of baseball injuries.

"The main two reasons for injuries in baseball are thrown balls and collisions, not batted balls," he said. "It's important to realize that standards on bat performance are established by bat makers.  They are agreed upon and enforced by baseball's governing bodies."

Opponents of a non-wood ban argue that there is no real difference between the safety involving a wooden bat or an aluminum one. They point to the ball exit speed ratios, the fact that wood bats can splinter and shatter into dangerous shards of wood and the fact that a pitcher can still be hit with a ball off of a wood bat.

A study conducted in 2007 by the Illinois State High School Association and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) determined that while aluminum produces more offense, it is not significantly more dangerous.

"I don't think that it's much more dangerous. I think it's overblown," Millburn baseball coach Daryl Palmieri said.

Research conducted by the School of Kinesiology and Recreation at Illinois State University found that there are five injuries out of 4,682 at-bats with aluminum, while there are two injuries with wood in 4,462 at-bats. None of the injuries involving a batted ball caused a player to miss playing time.

The pitcher is a dangerous position no matter what type of bat is being used. The person is throwing the pitch anywhere from 70 to 90 miles-per-hour and the ball comes off of the bat faster than 100 miles-per-hour, with wood or aluminum, giving the pitcher less than half of a second to react.

"I wouldn't say it's inherently anymore dangerous whether it's wood or aluminum," White said. "By the time the pitcher ends his motion, he's only 55 or 56 feet away from the plate."

Those who watch professional baseball have seen plenty of players hit by balls off of wooden bats, including South Orange's Joe Martinez, who was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2008 and took a line drive off of his head last year, leaving him with a concussion and three fractures in his skull.

The Don't Take My Bat Away coalition, comprised of parents, players and coaches, argues that it's a misconception that aluminum is more dangerous than wood.

"Banning aluminum bats won't reduce the risk of injuries from batted balls, because the speed of the ball leaving today's aluminum bats is comparable to the speed of a ball off the best wood bat," the coalition's Web site states. "Accidents are rare in baseball; but they can also happen with wood bats—yet no one says 'ban wood.'"

If you consider the thousands of at-bats taken by high school players across the nation each baseball season, the frequency of serious injuries caused from batted balls are rare.

But once an incident occurs, it becomes a scary reality.

"I've seen it a few times, and when you see a kid get hit with a ball, it is very scary," West Essex baseball coach Scott Illiano said.

"If someone gets hit, I get worried," 2009 Columbia High School grad Marcus McGriff said. "It doesn't really happen that often, but when it does, your heart just drops."

The potential of an injury isn't typically on the mind of any player, including pitchers. The lack of anticipation, however, could be one of the most dangerous factors.

"When I get out there, it's not really an issue. I don't know if anyone thinks about that at all," said Jonny Rio, a 2009 Columbia High School grad and relief pitcher. "It's part of the game. It's not something you should be too concerned with. The chances are so slim."