More on Aluminum Bats: An Overreaction?

John at Only Baseball Matters has posted an excellent critique of my earlier post (4/25) on the dangers of aluminum bats. He points to the study I cite that says baseball is one of the safest sports to play and echoes my statement that there may not be a problem at all.

One person or two people getting seriously injured, or even killed, while a tragedy for the families and friends of the individuals; do not give us a reason to create even more "risk-preventative" laws. Or put another way, you cannot legislate risk, although we continue to try and do so regardless of the cost. Children in most states can no longer ride a bicycle without a safety helmet, even though the facts do not support the claims that it saves lives, although it seems that it does reduce the number of children actually riding bikes.

Do we really need to have all young pitchers and infielders wearing helmets because there is a one in a million chance that they could suffer serious injury?

I have two responses. One, I agree completely that there is really not a problem and that imposing extra rules is problematic. From my first point, "[R]ules cannot account for all freak accidents." No matter how many rule changes are implemented, there is still a chance that a person can be seriously injured or killed in almost any activity.** As a society, it seems we are becoming too risk averse -- and it is harming society. As John states, "Children are at risk to a million dangers, as are all of us. It's called life."

Despite my agreement, the law may (unfortunately) dictate a change. The tort law is moving in a dangerous direction -- where injured plaintiffs must have a chance to be compensated no matter the remoteness of the danger. The case I cited in the first post, Sanchez v. Hillerich & Bradsby Co., 128 Cal. Rptr. 2d 529 (Cal. App. 2002), is an example of this. If the law continues to impose potential burdens on those that provide youth sports opportunities, then some preventative measures must be taken. Otherwise, one injury could potentially lead to a lawsuit that will bankrupt youth sports in an area. Whether this is softer balls, duller bats or extra helmets, it seems that under the current legal regime, some changes need to be made. And are helmets really that bad? It may seem odd today, but it was also odd when hockey goalies first wore masks.

**I do disagree, though, with John's claim (and the study) that bicycle helmets do not save lives. Around ten years ago, my brother was hit by a truck when riding his bicycle. He slammed his head on the concrete, cracking the helmet down the middle. He was fine, but I do not want to even think what would have been cracked had he not been wearing a helmet.

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