“Dont Take My Bat Away,” a group representing coaches, players, youth baseball enthusiasts and batmakers, will formally file a lawsuit against the City of New York on Monday, May 7th, to stop a ban on the use of metal and composite bats in city high schools. As reported, the New York City council overrode Mayor Michael Bloombergs veto of the ban last week.
A conference call with Chief Counsel David Ettinger discussing the lawsuit will be held Monday, May 7th, at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Conference call information will be distributed Monday morning. To obtain an electronic copy of the lawsuit on Monday, please e-mail Trent.Duffy@cox.net
In a statement, the coalition said the ban, which would take effect in September, would force over 9,600 players from more than 600 teams in the five boroughs to shelve all metal and composite bats in favor of wood, at a significant cost. As many as 9 out of every 10 amateur players use metal or composite bats.
The coalition noted that the ban on non-wood bats is opposed by American Legion Baseball, the NFHS, NCAA, American Baseball Coaches Association, Little League, Babe Ruth League and PONY League. In New York City, the ban is opposed by the Public School Athletic League and the Catholic High School Athletic Association.
It also noted that since 2003, metal and composite bats used in high schools have been scientifically regulated so that the speed of batted balls off metal and composite bats does not exceed that of the best major league wood bats. This standard has been adopted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). The Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2002 stated: “Available incident data are not sufficient to indicate that non-wood bats may pose an unreasonable risk of injury.”
