A Bay area high school pitcher, Gunnar Sandberg, is recovering from a traumatic brain injury suffered on March 11, 2010 after he was hit in the head with a line drive. Sandberg was pitching in a scrimmage when he was hit by a line drive just above his right ear. He was transported to a local hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to relieve pressure from bleeding around his brain. After the surgery, he was placed in an intensive care unit in a medically induced coma. Sandberg gradually began to recover. Sandberg continues to make remarkable progress and has been moved to a rehabilitation hospital in San Francisco. One source reported that he has made steady progress since emerging from the coma and is beginning to communicate with his family (Swartz, 2010). According to his dad, although he is not yet able to speak, he can follow commands. But he has a long way to go learning to speak, eat, and walk (Swartz, 2010). So the questions surface again. Are aluminum bats more dangerous than wood bats? Does the ball leave the aluminum bat with so much speed that the ball then becomes a lethal weapon? Would Sandberg’s injury have been as severe if the batter had used a wooden bat? Not waiting for the research community to respond, Sandberg’s coach along with the other head coaches within his league are making immediate changes. Sandberg’s coaches (Marin Catholic High School) decided to use wood bats for the rest of the season. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times (April, 5, 2010), nine other teams in the Marin County league also voted to ban metal bats for the rest of the season. As if Sandberg’s injury was not enough to add fuel to the aluminum bat debate, another young athlete from California sustained a catastrophic injury during March. El Toro High pitcher, Kristi Denny, was also struck in the head by a line drive ball hit off of an aluminum bat. In the sport of baseball, there is a push to remove aluminum bats from youth sports. However, aluminum bats are the only bats used in the sport of softball. In softball, the question is how can the pitchers be protected from catastrophic injuries? Denny was struck in the face sustaining significant facial fractures. She required six hours of reconstructive surgery to rebuild her face and forehead. What is even more frightening is that Denny was already wearing a face protector when she was hit. Doctors say that the facemask may have saved her life (Los Angeles Times, March 31, 2010). Leading the fight to remove aluminum bats from youth sports is the family of Brandon Patch. Brandon Patch was 18 years old when he died in 2003 after being hit in the head by a line drive off of a Louisville Slugger aluminum bat. Witnesses stated that he did not have enough time to react to the ball before it had hit him in the side of the head. Patch died shortly after his injury. Although the family’s initial intent was to change the legislation in Monta... |