[greymule]

I heard the story a few years ago. In this version, it was a titanium bat and that's why ASA banned them. Maybe it's just another urban legend. (I assume that these reported deaths were in slow-pitch.)

In my opinion, today's bats, as well as the balls that don't soften up, are a major cause of the declining interest in slow-pitch. Twenty-five years ago, here in Mercer County, New Jersey, there were 110 men's teams in the county leagues alone, and every township had a flourishing league with two, three, four divisions. There were also good industrial leagues. Tournaments abounded. You could play in one every weekend from April through September and beyond (and a lot of guys did). You could also play an entire high-level tournament without a single ball being hit over a 300-foot fence.

The balls were Dudley SP12s, and the bats, while metal, were no more live than wooden bats. Scores were lower, anybody could beat anybody, and everybody had a lot more fun.

Now, over an evening's three games, I routinely see 125 runs scored, 20 to 25 balls hit over the fence (often whatever the home run limit is), every game stopped by the mercy rule before the seventh inning, and a general lethargy on the field. Guy blasts one, he waits at the plate to see whether it's caught. Guy hits a grounder, he trots until (a) the ball is fielded, in which case he stops running, or (b) the ball goes through the infield, in which case he slows his trot and stops on first. Guy hits one back to the pitcher, he walks directly to the dugout. I've had BU games where I made zero calls.