Eastchester Little League mandates wooden bats be used

There are kids – even those who play lots of baseball – who’ve never heard the fabled crack of the bat.

Instead, they’re familiar with the ping of the bat.

But that will change this year, at least temporarily, for Eastchester Little Leaguers.

The 140 kids playing 12-and-under and 10-and-under Eastchester baseball will use wood in a move that’s designed to increase safety, cut down on offenses run amuck and allow teams to get a head start on a forthcoming national Little League rule. The move is an expansion of last year’s program, which had 11- and 12-year-olds use wood.

As of 2018, Little League Baseball and multiple other youth baseball organizations will outlaw the use of high-performance aluminum/composite bats that critics argue inflate offensive output, create bad batting habits and can lead to injuries, particularly among pitchers, since the ball comes off the bat faster than it does off wooden bats.

As of 2018, Little Leaguers and those who play Babe Ruth Baseball, Cal Ripken Baseball, Pony League, AAU, American Amateur Baseball Congress and Dixie Youth Baseball will be required to use either wooden bats or bats USA Baseball has determined produce a similar effect to wood.

Some of these bats already exist, but the as-of-2018 window is designed to allow companies to create a healthy supply of bats of various sizes that fit USA Baseball’s criteria.

The decision by USA Baseball to outlaw the higher-performance bats, which some characterize as weapons, was announced last summer. USA Baseball, which oversees most amateur baseball in the U.S., said the change would make things “more uniform” and ensure the “long-term integrity of the game.”

The organization has said safety didn’t weigh into its decision because the game is safe.

It’s difficult to definitely declare aluminum and/or composite bats dangerous, since data is lacking. Little League Baseball, for instance, has not kept figures regarding injuries incurred with balls hit by wooden bats vs. those hit with aluminum/composite.

But studies show that balls hit by non-wooden bats leave the bat at greater rates of speed.

Then there’s simple observation.

John Cinguina, president of Eastchester Little League, remembers when 9- and 10-year-old hitters could not reach the fences. Now clearing them is common.

He also recalls about 15 home runs being clocked during one Little League tournament game several years ago between Eastchester and Valhalla.

“It was a home-run show. Every inning there were three or four home runs. It was ridiculous and some of the kids were hitting off-stride,” Cinguina recalled.

Using wood and then wood or the new approved bats beginning in 2018 should stop that. Hits will be earned, Cinguina predicts.

But to keep things even, Eastchester will allow kids to use regular aluminum/composite bats for games against opponents outside its own league until the 2018 national changeover.

While USA Baseball won’t acknowledge those bats increase the risk of injury, Cinguina does.

“We’ve been lucky with that before – more lucky than good, although there’s no way to prove any stuff,” he said.

Parents, who balked six or seven years ago, when his league suggested the wood mandate, haven’t raised much fuss this time. They were told last year not to buy new bats because of the pending rule, Cinguina said.

But Eastchester appears to be on its own. Cinguina said he doesn’t know of another area organization moving to wood.

National Little League Baseball spokesman Brian McClintock said Little League doesn’t keep records of affiliated organizations that use wood. He added, “It’s not very common but there are a few.”

Don Soucy, who heads Little League’s Eastern Region, said, “Most leagues that I am aware have not moved to wood bats. As a matter of fact, with 1,800 Little League charters in our 11-state region, I have heard of only one other league doing so and it was in the 13-18 age levels, not 12-and-under.”

He believes that was in Massachusetts a couple of years ago,

Phil DiRuocco is co-chairman of high school baseball in local Section 1. The former longtime Irvington coach and umpire, who’s in the Westchester County Sports Hall of Fame, is a fan of wood but doesn’t think the New York State Public High School Athletic Association will mandate its use.

“From time to time, the wooden bat issue has been brought up at NYSPHSAA meetings over the last five-plus years,” he said. “The discussion has never led anywhere because I believe the corporate lobby by the big bat companies seems to have smothered interest. I don’t think the (Section 1) committee thinks this could ever happen. The five boroughs of New York City took the bull by the horn several years ago and said all high schools in the five boroughs will use wood bats – public, private and parochial. Personally, I would like to see wood bats return. I am not sure if it is a money issue because wood bats are expensive and do not last forever, like aluminum. (But) the safety issue is the most important.”

DiRuocco said he’d seen pitchers nailed with batted balls that he believes would have been caught, deflected or avoided had the balls been hit by wood.

“Fortunately, I haven’t seen a pitcher – as a coach or umpire – get hit in the head,” he said. “I did have a third baseman at Irvington that got a line drive off his glove and directly into his orbital socket eye bone. He was lucky. Black eye, bone bruise, no eye damage. For the next two or three weeks he wore a batter’s helmet with a face guard to protect him while still playing. He missed a game or two.”

Professional baseball allows only the use of wooden bats. But the NCAA allows aluminum/composite bats. DiRuocco suggested college use of wood would spur high school use but added most colleges don’t use wood because of sponsorship by companies that make aluminum bats.

Still, some high school players who hope to eventually play at a higher level do use wood, at least during summer league play.

Mamaroneck coach Mike Chiapparelli, another Westchester Sports Hall of Famer, who has three state baseball titles (as well as this past Sunday’s state ice hockey title) to his credit, grew up playing with wooden bats. It wasn’t until he was in college that aluminum came out, said Chiapparelli, a 1974 Mamaroneck grad.

Mandating a switch on the high school level would be bad financially unless years of advance notice were given, he said.

Still, the players on his team who play in summer leagues use wood bats, he said. While wooden bats usually cost a fraction of aluminum/composite, wood is no longer cheap. Chiapparelli places the cost at $60-$90 each. And hit the ball on the wrong spot with power, they can easily break. He noted he had one of his state championship teams use wood one weekend and it broke 12 bats.

He figures aluminum bats produce more yards, with balls traveling about 10 percent farther, although he said wooden bats can still produce a “good shot.”

But Chiapparelli likes the Little League switch, believing kids should learn to hit with wood and that wood is safer.

“The ball definitely goes harder. … I think it will help, especially on a Little League field, which is so small,” he said.

Twitter: @HaggertyNancy