Call from the Bullpen by David Maull
The Bullpen | Major Leagues | Sports Front Page
Wood, Not Aluminum
Belongs In Pro Baseball
From the June 25, 1998 TV Times
A scary thought: what if Cleveland's Sandy Alomar had been using an aluminum bat when, on May 14, he lined a ball up the middle that struck Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina in the face?
Chances are, Mussina wouldn't have spent just 15 days on the disabled list. His season, career and possibly life may have ended that evening on the infield grass at Camden Yards.
If anything positive can be taken from Mussina's misfortune and the rash of similar accidents that have plagued the Orioles pitching staff this season, it's that those who think it would be a good idea to give Juan Gonzales an aluminum bat suddenly look a bunch of sadists.
At the very least, Mussina would have suffered some type of facial bone fracture and a loss of sight in his eye had a metal bat been used. Teammates Arthur Rhodes and Doug Drabek also wouldn't have shaken off their injuries so easily after they were struck in a June 2 game against the Seattle Mariners. The line drive by Ken Griffey Jr. that Rhodes took off the chest almost certainly would have resulted in a broken rib or two.
About 10 years ago, there was a push to introduce aluminum bats to professional baseball. Enthusiasts argued the pros were the only level where aluminum bats were not used.
Thankfully, major league baseball never gave the matter serious consideration. Cooler heads have prevailed and now the once-mighty aluminum bat has become public enemy No. 1 in some circles.
No where is the effect of aluminum bats more evident than in the recently-completed College World Series.
It was not unusual to see a game in which both teams scored in double figures. And bad pitching wasn't always to blame.
In the championship game, won by USC by a ridiculous 21-14 score, Arizona State pitcher Ryan Mills, who was the sixth overall pick in the recent major league draft, was knocked out of the box in the second inning.
Mills, like many other college pitchers, has discovered that not only does the ball fly farther when hit by an aluminum bat, but hard inside fastballs that result in broken-bat pop-ups in the pros often find the outfield grass in college.
Mills is also familiar with the other impact of aluminum bats, having been hit in the head with a line drive earlier in his college career.
Do you think he's bemoaning the fact that he'll never see a metal bat again after he begins his professional career in the Minnesota Twins organization?
Metal bats have been used at the high school, little league and American Legion levels for years and those leagues seem no worse for it.
In fact, young kids can probably draw confidence from the bats, which are light as a feather and allow for greater bat speed. Plus, the youngsters usually aren't strong enough to produce deadly line drives.
It's when the bats reach the college level that they become dangerous weapons.
Why hasn't there been a stronger push to use wooden bats in the college game? In addition to being safer and giving pitchers a better chance to succeed, it would be an advantage to players moving on to the pros because there would be no difficult adjustment to wood in the minor leagues.
But if aluminum bats are going to be used in college baseball, manufacturers should take steps to tone down their firepower.
Unlike wooden bats, the metal variety can be made with less explosiveness and having them perform more like wood would likely prevent the serious accident that appears inevitable.
Fortunately, it's unlikely metal bats will ever see the light of day in the major or minor leagues.
That should be a comforting thought to anyone who has ever stepped on a pitcher's mound.
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