Baseball Coalition Files Motion, Asks Judge to Toss Bat Ban

Says New Law “Hurts Baseball, and hurts New York High School Players”

NEW YORK CITY – Stating that the city’s new ban on non-wood bats in high school baseball “hurts baseball, and hurts New York high school players,” a coalition of parents, coaches, baseball enthusiasts and batmakers filed a motion late yesterday asking a Federal judge to declare the ban unlawful and be enjoined, thus prohibiting the ban from taking effect.

The motion is the latest development in the lawsuit over the bat ban, which the New York City Council enacted last month over Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto.  The motion contains references, facts, and case law citations to support the plaintiff’s arguments that the ban is unlawful and unconstitutional. 

For a copy of the motion, please e-mail Mike May at mmay@sgma.com

“We are confident of our argument because all of the facts are on our side:  baseball is plenty safe and it’s safe when played with either wood or non-wood bats.  The ban is unlawful, illogical and while injuries in baseball are rare, they will still happen with wood bats,” said David Ettinger, chief counsel for the plaintiffs.

The motion says the ban will cause “substantial harm” to city ballplayers and teams:

• Players will be forced to use bats they do not like, resulting in lower hitting success for the majority of players with average and below average skills
• Participation in youth baseball (and the resulting drop in competitiveness) could drop as hitting is made more difficult and players quit the game
• Players would have fewer opportunities to get broader experience and exposure, since fewer interstate games would be played

In 2002, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated “Available incident data are not sufficient to indicate that non-wood bats may pose an unreasonable risk of injury.”  A ban on non-wood bats is opposed by American Legion Baseball, the National Federation of High Schools, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, American Baseball Coaches Association, Little League, Babe Ruth League and PONY League.  In New York City, the ban is opposed by the Public School Athletic League and the Catholic High School Athletic Association.

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