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Originally Posted by LakeErieUmp
Ray Chapman was hit in the head with a pitched ball and died. Tony Conigliaro was hit in the head with a pitched ball and did not. There is no way Carl Mays threw a 1920 baseball faster than Jack Hamilton threw the more tightly wound 1967 version. Sometimes it is not just velocity. Things happen. Sad, but they happen. Anecdotal incidents really don't determine whether metal bats are inherently more dangerous.
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Chapman was not wearing a helmet, and the baseball was so dirty that he never saw it coming.
Conigliaro was struck on the cheek, and was not wearing a helmet with an ear-flap. Still, he returned to the game a year and a half later.
Studies show that balls coming off a metal bat achieve significantly higher velocities. See the study I linked to, as well as the 2001 Journal of Applied Biomechanics study.
Anecdotal evidence is valuable in conjunction with those studies. Common sense dictates that a higher velocity equates to lesser reaction time and harder impact.