Since the 1970s, metal bats have been the thing to swing at almost all levels of amateur baseball. Three decades later, the traditional wooden bat is making a slow return. This season, North Dakota became the first state to ban non-wooden bats in high school baseball, citing safety concerns. New York City's public schools will begin using wooden bats in September if a lawsuit to overturn a metal-bat ban is denied. Lawmakers in New Jersey also are looking into banning metal bats. In Pennsylvania, though, no such legislation exits. The state's high school players have the option to use metal or wooden bats, and most hitters continue to prefer the sound of a "ping" rather than a "crack" when making contact. "We don't see the problem with those non-wood bats that apparently some other people are seeing," PIAA executive director Brad Cashman said. "If there is a problem, we would be discussing it." WPIAL executive director Tim O'Malley also has no plans of banning metal bats, unless such a decree comes from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). "We don't make the changes," he said. So far, other states have been slow to join North Dakota in banning the non-wood bat. On May 10, for the third consecutive year, Massachusetts rejected a proposal to ban non-wood and composite bats in high school baseball. "Each state association is independent, and they have that luxury (to enforce the ban)," said Elliot Hopkins, baseball rules editor for the NFHS. "We allow wood and non-wood bats." The semi-pro Pittsburgh Federation League became one of the area's rare all-wooden bat leagues in 2000, pointing out it wanted to restore tradition. "It's a better game, a faster game," said Tom McCarthy, the 25-year coach of the league's St. John's entry. "The kids have to learn how to swing the bat a lot better, it's a safer game, and it creates a better brand of baseball." Safety dance Safety is at the core of a metal against wooden-bat debate that ranges from Little League to the NCAA. The NCAA, whose players would seem to benefit most from all-wooden bat leagues because they are closest in talent to the professional game, has not given any consideration in the past eight years to a metal-bat ban, said Ty Halpin, the NCAA's Associate Director for Playing Rules Administration. Little League and Louisville Slugger have conducted safety studies, hoping to prove that metal bats are no more dangerous than wooden bats. The Little League Web site states there have been 15 catastrophic injuries to pitchers since 1982, and three players have died in the past decade from batted balls. Two of those deaths involved wooden bats. "We don't have any limitations," said Christopher Downs, media relations manager of Little League Baseball and Softball. "Little League is opposed to the legislation that's been considered in (North Dakota and New York City) because there is no evidence to sustain any support of the opinion to ban non-wood bats." A report from Little League Baseball states that injuries have decreased since records were kept in 1992. There were 145 claims reported in 1992 compared to 88 claims in 2005. Credit can be given to the bats being manufactured to meet safety requirements. Rick Redman, a company spokesman for Louisville Slugger, said every new model of aluminum bat must meet the Ball Exit Speed Ratio (BESR) standard set by baseball's governing body. The 1.15 BESR requirement ensures that non-wooden bats do not have an advantage over the best wooden bats, Redman said. "The bottom line, these (aluminum) bats are regulated and safe," Redman said in an e-mail. "The USCPSC (United States Consumer Product Safety Commission) says so. The NCAA says so. All of the injury data shows that baseball is among the safest games and batted ball injuries have been declining. If everything goes back to wood, we fear that within a few years many kids will quit playing. Wood bats are heavier, less balanced, make your hands sting, and they have a smaller sweet spot." Redman also noted that one of the reasons metal bats were introduced is because broken bats and sharp shards of wood can be dangerous, too. In a study headed by Dan Russell, associate professor of applied physics at Kettering University, a pitcher on a mound 60 feet from home plate has .04 more seconds to react to a ball coming off a wooden bat as opposed to a metal bat. The study proved that a ball coming off a metal bat travels by the pitcher approximately 10 mph faster than one off a wooden bat. Many high school coaches utilize wooden bats during practice to stress discipline, form and technique. Longtime Blackhawk coach Bob Amalia is slightly in favor of limiting the wooden bats to the batting cages. "I have mixed emotions," Amalia said. "I know where they are coming from saying that the ball off a metal bat is dangerous for a pitcher. I like it the way it is now. The main disadvantage (of using wooden bats) is that it becomes more of a pitcher and defensive type of ball game. If you don't hit it off the sweet spot, you're not going to hit a home run. The hitters will have to be more precise. The scores would be a lot lower. The home run total would be down, the batting averages would be down." Costly proposition Funding is an issue with all-wood leagues. Toronto Blue Jays scout Mike Berger, a Central Catholic graduate, estimates one hitter would need 12 bats to make it through a summer-league season. Redman said a very good aluminum bat can be purchased for $100; the upper-end bats sell for $180-200. Louisville markets a hybrid bat that sells for $329. Berger, the father of two teenage boys, has varying stances on the possible revival of the wooden bat. Although his son Nick, a sophomore centerfielder at Central Catholic, has the option of using metal or wood, he encourages the aluminum bat. "If nine guys on the other side are swinging alumimun and my boys wanted to swing wood, it's a competitive disadvantage," Berger said. "As much as it is all about developing kids, a select few go on to college baseball. So why go into a gun fight with a switch blade?" Pirates leftfielder Jason Bay said a good hitter will adjust and perform regardless of the bat's contents. "There's definitely a transition period," Bay said. "I think that's why a lot of people say, 'With a wooden bat, he won't do this or that.' But in my estimation, if you can hit, you can hit, whether it's with an aluminum bat, a wood bat or a steel pipe." The scout in Berger encourages his sons to hit a ball off a tee with a wooden bat at least six nights a week in the garage. That way, they can adapt to the weight distribution, the feel, the smaller sweet spot and the balance of the wooden bat. Berger knows how hard it can be to make that adjustment. He sees kids struggle with it when he's out searching for the game's top hitters. "All 30 Major League clubs won't get involved with a potential high school or college eligible position player if they had not had some type of experience sometime in a wooden bat league. "My argument would be that it's a lot easier to grade up than grade down. I'd much rather look at someone swinging wood. You can evaluate the swing path and pitch recognition and wonder what he could do with a major weapon (an aluminum bat) in his hand." Many scouts head to the Cape Cod summer league, where the nation's top players swing wooden bats. That just so happened to be where a pitcher from Stanford was hit in the eye with a line drive last year. He was airlifted for trauma care and has had multiple surgeries. With that said, debate continues. The fact that wooden bats sales at BWP Bats LLC in Brookville are up 40 percent could indicate Pennsylvania is moving away from metal bats. On the other hand, Redman said non-wood bat sales for Louisville Slugger are up. For now, with the exception of North Dakota high schools, players at every level below the professional ranks have a choice. "We're for choice in bats," Redman said. "Since non-wood bats are already regulated and are safe, we believe players who want to use them should be permitted to do so. "

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