Baseball: Was using wood bats during summer a wise move?

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Now that there is no longer a threat of getting rid of metal bats next spring, was it smart for the Valley Invitational Baseball League to use wood bats this past summer?

Certainly, pitchers had lots of fun throwing fastballs down the middle and then finding out the ball wasn’t going to be hit for a home run. But hitters struggled at times.

The big question is how much will hitters improve in the spring with a return to metal bats.

Alex Rubanowitz from Calabasas, one of the top hitters in the VIBL, insists that using wood bats will end up being a positive for everyone involved.’The struggles with wood over the summer is going to turn into success with metal,’ Rubanowitz said.

He said using wood was ‘helpful’ in learning the discipline needed to hit with wood, where there’s only one sweet spot on the bat. With metal, even if the batter makes a slight mistake, the ball is going to travel far and fast.

One local high school coach went to watch last week’s Area Code Games that used wood bats and said players had no problems using them. ‘Aluminum bats allow poor hitters a better opportunity for success,’ he said.

Wood bats certainly changed baseball strategy, with more bunting and more infield hits. Home runs virtually disappeared. And the few games I watched were boring, because so few players could hit the ball hard with a wood bat.

But there has been a safety issue involved with metal bats. Hopefully, that has been dealt with, though injuries will continue to occur with wood and metal bats.

I’m just happy the home runs will return next spring, so pitchers, beware. You won’t be able to get away with throwing fastballs down the middle whenever you want.

-- Eric Sondheimer