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Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. · #6 (**permalink**) Mon Jul 28, 2003, 03:57pm

Quote:

Originally posted by oreillywv

Quote:

Originally posted by cowbyfan1
I see where an 18 year old pitcher was killed in Montana at a Legion game when he was struck in the head by a batted ball. I am not sure if legion switched to the BESR rating, or if the batter was already using one but hopefully this convinces them that they need to make it mandatory if the batter wasn't. It may not have made a difference but yet it may have, we'll never know. Hopefully it makes us more responsible in checking for the ratings before a game

Pat O'Reilly response
This bat-safety issue must be solved. I've seen enough pitchers get pasted, and many near-misses It is established fact that the ball accelerates when coming off an aluminum bat.The fear of injury has unmeasured negative influence on the psyche of pitchers. They are scared and this likely compromises their skills. A new bat design is on the market, called MetalWood. See http://www.metalwood.com It has an aluminum handle and a wood head. Acceptance by baseball leagues and administrators should be expedited. Besides improved safety, this bat reduces by about 3 years the time it takes an aluminum bat player (high school, college, Legion) to adapt to the feel of ML wood bats. MetalWood also gets us back to real baseball instead of bling-ball long ball and long outs. NOTE; the aluminum bat safety issue applies to fasat pitch softball too. This new generation of girls generate tremendous bat contact. The high school mound-plate distance needs to be increased to the college specs. Pat O'Reilly, umpire, sports researcher

Are you sure this is the correct URL for MetalWood. It took me to the website of a jazz band.