In preparation to weigh in on this hot-button topic of aluminum vs. wood, I have read countless articles. Many articles I read were superficial, likely banged out in 90 minutes by some overworked general assignment reporter who made one phone call and performed the same Google search as I did; and other articles were written by someone with a Ph.D. affixed to their name who probably would have a tough time differentiating a baseball from a tetherball.
In all the articles I read, no matter the intellectual level of author, their stories/arguments were always weighted with statistics. These statistics augmented their opinions, strengthened their slants, and gave their words credence and muscle.
I admit, I have always been a sucker for statistics. Growing up, I could tell you what light-hitting outfielder Rudy Law hit in 1983 when the Sox won their division (.283); heck, this magazine is buoyed by statistics. But now, after my mind-numbing research expedition to conclusively compass my thumb north or south on whether Illinois high school baseball should turn exclusively to wood bats, I have stumbled upon a new statistic: the percentage of times I have been fleeced by statistics in articles (93.7 percent).
Statistics are, in many cases, numbers, very pliable numbers, often researched by some obscure 501C organization with some philanthropic mission statement and its own perspective on how its numbers should compute, therefore they fish their numbers from a very familiar and shallow pool in effort to align their point of view
On the surface, statistics stake an opinion to the ground. But dig into the soil of opinion, and you will find that these statistics are far from stable; they are clay figures, easily manipulated and shaped. For example, in one article written with an obvious slant against aluminum bats, the author writes, “Between 1991 and 2001, 17 players were killed by batted balls, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Eight involved metal bats and two involved wood bats. In seven instances, the kind of bat was not documented.”
Shortly after, I stumbled upon an article found on the American Legion website, an organization that apparently is pro-aluminum and likely heavily funded by aluminum manufactures. “In a twenty-year study by the National Center of Catastrophic Sports Injury Research (1982-2002), 7 deaths of high school aged baseball players were recorded. In that same period, there were 6 deaths in soccer, 20 deaths in track, and 92 associated with football.”
Obviously there is a stark disparity between statistics and the parties presenting the statistics. I am not disputing the legitimacy of either statistic. Both statistics may very well be accurate. It’s how these researchers have arrived upon their statistics that I question. Perhaps one organization had a CIA-like tracking system of every amateur pitched and batted ball across the country and the other organization had a two-person staff who charted fatalities only when they were called. Who knows?
The aluminum vs. wood debate has undoubtedly stoked strong opinions. Even state senators are throwing their newly purchased baseball caps in the ring, which can be interpreted either that he/she has a son playing in Pony League or there are some slick-talking lobbyists whispering in their ears. As I am sure you have determined by now, I’m a glass-half-full type of guy, so I will assume that the lobbyists have their own children’s safety at heart and not the billons of dollars being exchanged each year.
If you are reading this magazine I don’t have to tell you that the bat business is big bucks. And you can bet your last dollar that when big bucks are involved that there are a lot of independent research companies – commissioned by both the aluminum and wooden bat manufacturers – to compile statistics to back their respective business.
Through all the research, through all the countless articles written, through all the posturing, only one thing has conclusively been decided, at least by neutral parties with nothing to gain, myself included: There is no definitive evidence that regulated aluminum bats are significantly more dangerous to players than wooden bats.
Talk about the trampoline effect of aluminum bats and its laboratory tested yet highly speculative exit speeds of batted balls all you want. My only opinion on aluminum vs. wood at the high school level centers around one singular point.
Until the NCAA – or the senate, for that matter – mandates college baseball players use wood bats, then high school shouldn’t. College players are bigger, stronger, and far more skilled than the average high school player. Balls come off the bat at greatly increased velocities, and yet pitchers, who are the biggest concerns, stand at the same distance as high school pitchers.
Plus most collegiate players have aspirations to play pro ball, which, if you haven’t noticed, use strictly wood. So why not prepare college baseball players to better adjust to pro baseball? Simple. Aluminum bat companies fund college baseball. If aluminum bat sponsorship disappears, then the sport withers away into obscurity, and its budget, however fat or malnourished that it is now, flatlines.
If safety of the players is what wooden-bat proponents seek, then start with college baseball. But until that happens (which it never will), leave high school baseball out of it.