In 12 innings of play during the Class 4A championship series losers’ bracket last week, there were a combined 78 runs and 18 home runs.
True, Colorado’s legendary spring winds blowing off nearby Aurora Reservoir, as well as mile-high altitude, had something to do with it. But the video-game results were nothing new for the latest generation that has been raised on ping! as opposed to crack!.
Metal baseball bats, evolving from crude aluminum versions of the mid-1970s to today’s assortment of alloys measured for outputs such as BESR (ball exit speed ratio), have not only changed the sounds of prep diamonds, but led to increased run production, as fans can see up-close during the state finals this weekend.
Also in the growing debate are safety concerns that come with use of high-tech metal bats, because of the decreased reaction time for infielders to field a smash back at them.
In Calfornia this week, the state senate is considering a bill that would ban non-wood bats in high schools due to safety concerns. The proposal came after a pitcher at a San Francisco high school in March was hit in the head and suffered major brain injuries.
No such ban appears imminent in Colorado. Bert Borgmann, Colorado High School Activities Association assistant commissioner said, “If there’s hue and cry about it, we’d be happy to go with wood.”
Borgmann, who also is on the rules committee of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSH), added, “If every state and high school and youth league would go to wood, they couldn’t get the supply. There’d have to be an introduction period.”
Standley Lake coach Gary Allen is against metal bats, as are many schoolboy participants, officials and fans. He plans to submit a proposal for schools to go to wood bats in Jefferson County schools.
“It has destroyed what I hold sacred in a baseball game,” Allen said of metal bats. “To be honest, it’s disgusting. Using metal bats has ruined the game.”
Nationally, North Dakota stands alone in requiring use of wood bats. Public schools in New York City and in the Hoosier League near the national high school federation’s office in Indianapolis also are required to use wood.
Switch to metal boon for offense
The switch to metal bats long ago was designed to eliminate injury risks from splintered or broken bats. It was also a cost-effective move, as aluminum bats rarely need replacing. It also added offense to the game, making it more exciting for some players who struggled to hit with wood. Borgmann likened the metal-bat phenomenon to the change being made in softball for next season, when the distance from the pitching rubber to home plate will be increased from 40 feet to 43.
“The feeling is that it will increase offense,” he said. “Pitchers have been dominating.”
Major League Baseball didn’t opt for metal bats after Bob Gibson’s record 1.12 earned run average in 1968, but it did opt to lower the height of the mound.
“But why put major-league criteria on a 14- or 16-year-old boy?” asked Mike May, communications director of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association.
May insists baseball is not more dangerous when played with metal bats. “It’s being driven by anecdotal evidence and emotion, and not fact,” he said.
Elliot Hopkins, who is chairman of baseball rules for the NFSH, agrees.
“Our injury-to-exposure rate is minuscule,” he said. “Overall, everyone seems to be pleased with metal. We have flare-ups now and then, and then the volcano erupts.”
Allen, as well as Cherry Creek coach Marc Johnson, question those views. They see hard-hit balls fly off of metal bats and fear for the safety of their infielders.
“The third baseman and pitcher are fighting for their lives,” Allen said. “They’re getting comebackers or lasers right at them.”
Johnson, also a professional scout, favors the use of only wood bats.
“For a number of reasons,” he said. “One, safety. Two, you can’t play small ball. Wood to me is real baseball. As a coach, I see games going faster. The pitching is a little more dominant, you don’t see these seven- and eight-run innings. Of course, I grew up with wood, but there’s a huge disadvantage.”
Some local players agree.
“I personally prefer wood,” said Arapahoe slugger Brian Guymon, who is headed to Stanford. “I just think hitting with it shows you who has power and who doesn’t. Sometimes you miss hitting it with a metal bat and it still goes out of the park.”
Cherry Creek’s Grant McCabe said, “As a hitter, I prefer metal, but as a player, wood makes it more interesting.”
Pining for return to “chess game”
Johnson’s teams enter wood-bat tournaments, and he encourages his players to practice with wood.
“I coach because of the baseball chess game,” he said, “and wood makes it more of a chess game.”
For cost, top wood bats run $60-75. High-end metal can be $300 or more. But, wood bats break, and need to be replaced much more often.
So, what would it take for in-staters to go to wood?
“An act of Congress,” said Regis Jesuit coach Steve Cavnar. Or perhaps an act of the state’s baseball committee?
“I’d love it,” said committee chairman Dave Mumper, who is the Mountain Vista athletic director. “A common rationale would be needed, and I think we could sell it easily for safety reasons.”
But first, he suggests, it would be an easier switch if college programs switched. “Everything trickles down from them,” he said.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
