They've been talking about the need for this for years. It may just be a suit like this or a class action that finally gets bat companies to do it. "Hot" bats have no place in youth baseball. Save those for the adult softball leagues where the players are old enough to assume the risk of getting drilled on a come-backer.Originally Posted by Boston Red
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
I believe college baseball already has rules that limit how "hot" a bat can be.
As for youth leagues, I'm surprised more haven't done this but a league would have to be fully prepared to enforce it -- and that means either buying expensive testing equipment or simply having the league provide bats and force the players to use them, which many parents would hate just on general principle.
Reading comprehension is not just an ability, it's a choice
The kid died, so their was very little spent for medical care.
It would not matter if it were a hot bat or not, if the kid hitting the ball is 150 pounds, and it hit exactly in the right spot, the same result would of happen. Some of these 12 year old kids are huge, what do you do, have a weight limit? The infielders are closer to home because it's a LL field.
If they were that concerned about this happening they could of gone to any major sporting good store and purchased the under-shirt I mentioned it the origional post
If their kid was hit by a hockey puck, they would be doing the same thing. The would be suing the rubber company that made the puck and the stick company that made the hockey stick. It's all about the coin.
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Um, in the story you linked to, the kid's heart stopped, but he was resuscitated, but suffered brain damage. He's going to need lifelong medical care. I don't know if they knew the risks if the kid on the other team was using a "hot" bat. Why bring in the leauge? Well, did the league warn them that players could use hot bats and that those bats could pose a risk of harm to their kid? Did the league tell them to get their kid that flak jacket shirt you mentioned? Did the sporting goods store warn the people who purchased the bat that balls come off the bat at a higher speed that could cause injury to other kids?
Bat makers know the risks of their products and know to whom those bats are marketed. I'm far from a fan of frivolous lawsuits, but this is one of those cases where I think the parents have to sue. They're going to be caring for that boy for the rest of their lives. His injuries may have been caused by negligence and the negligence may have been caused by the bat maker in not providing adequate warnings on their product, the store, for not warning the purchaser, and/or the league for not warning the parents. If one or more of the parties wasn't negligent, they either get dismissed from the case by the judge or acquitted by the jury.
You assume that the parents were adequately warned of the dangers they exposed their kid to when they signed him up to play. That may not be true. I know I didn't know about flak jackets and all that stuff before you mentioned it in this thread. If I wasn't up on this aluminum bat controversy, I would have probably assumed aluminum bats were pretty much similar to what they were when I was a kid. So it really is important that bat makers and leagues make sure parents are aware of the dangers of these newer bats and the leagues warn parents that such bats may be used.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
Stupidity isn't negligence, or at least it shouldn't be. You know that you could take a LD and not catch it. Don't tell me adults don't know that risk. They do. There is no negligence in that. Its like suing Mcdonalds because your coffee you spilled on you was hot. Oh wait, that happened. Still, negligence shouldn't have to cover common sense.
Is it common sense? Sure parents know the risk that a kid might not catch a line drive, but I doubt many parents are aware that a ball could come off an aluminum bat fast enough and hard enough to cause someone's heart to stop if they get hit. Did you know that? I didn't know that. I know my parents didn't know that when they let me play as a kid, or else there's no way they would have let me play. My mom wouldn't let me play organized football because she had worked as a receptionist at an orthopaedist's office and saw all the broken bones from football. If we compare it to another product, say lead-based paint. Every parent knows they shouldn't let their kid eat paint chips. But do they assume the risk that the paint in their house has lead in it, even if they didn't know about it, just because common sense says not to let your kids eat paint chips?
Bat makers are always trying to improve the hitting power of their bats. It's how they make their money. You don't think that if they're going to juice up their bats, they shouldn't be required to put some kind of warning on there? Should they be allowed to sell any kind of bat to any age level they want, regardless of the danger to children? If bat makers are souping up those bats without adequately warning the public of the dangers, then should they not be held accountable?
I don't know about banning aluminum bats. I think the argument is compelling that aluminum bats reduce the equipment costs of youth leagues across the country and it poses less danger of a kid getting hit by a broken bat. However, I think the bat makers have the technology to make a safer aluminum bat. If they don't make bats safer for youth leagues on their own, then the public needs some way to compel them to do so. The best way is to have the leagues require safer bats themselves. But a lawsuit to determine whether the bats are in fact safe for use is another way. All part of the system.
I think your argument in this case would be stronger if it were the parents who bought the bat that was used and they were told that using the bat in a youth game could pose risks. Maybe you don't have kids. I do and I know that, while I want my kids to go out and have fun and climb trees and play baseball and do other things that are fun but involve risk, I also want to know how much risk I'm exposing my kids to so that I can make an informed decision.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
Pure speculation on my part, but with medical bills piling up this family may have gotten advice from a lawyer that recommended a blanket lawsuit that could result in a settlement that would allow them to pay for the care that their son requires.
A very strong temptation that would be very hard for a family in their shoes to pass up.
"The players make the manager, it's never the other way." - Sparky Anderson
Basically, the lawyer says "let's throw around a bunch of lawsuits and see what sticks." And then he gets a VERY nice payday.
Don't get me started on that. McDonalds must have the greatest PR machine in history if people still think they got a raw deal on that one.
Exactly. The facts in that case were much, much different than the McDonalds PR machine made them out to be.
Actually not to get all lawyerly.
But McDonalds was sued not because their coffee was hot, but because it was hot enough to cause third degree burns. They had been warned about it numerous times and had ignored the warnings, instead instructing all the restaurants to serve it at the scalding temperatures because it would stay hotter for people who brought their coffee to work.
But lets' not let facts get in the way of a good story.
The same thing could have happened if a wooden bat was used. It's tragic, but it happens.
SECOND PLACE DOESN'T CONCERN ME
I asked this once before and didnt get any responses.
Ive not played Little League baseball in a few years but as a soccer ref, Ive seen where players get hurt the league insurance basically covers the medical cost. In this case isnt it the responsibility of Little League Baseball insurance provider to cover the cost of the kids medical bills since it occured while playing Little League Baseball?
Anyone with a kid playing baseball now able to look and see the policy for injuries and insurance? I thought that was part of the entry fee in any league like this.
I looked it up ... there is an "excess" policy, but it is subject to an unspecified limit.
Which means it kicks in only after existing coverage has been exhausted. And, I'm sure this child's injury would exceed whatever limits the little league policy has.
Amazing...............why don't they sue the coach? Shouldn't the coach have some responsiblity in not teaching the kid to be ready for a hot shot right back at him??..........................oh wait, it's his dad.
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