Little League Opposes Chest Protectors

Little League officials say extra protective gear is not justified, even though a federal study documented nearly two dozen children who died after being hit in the chest by baseballs.

The latest incident occurred when 10-year-old William Ryan Wojick was hit by a pitch as he batted during a game here March 18. The impact of the ball stopped his heart, and he died at a hospital 45 minutes later.

The league claimed at the time that it was only the second such death in 40 years, but officials later acknowledged having been familiar with a 1986 federal study documenting 23 such cases.

“These were isolated incidents--freak things. To take drastic measures seems inappropriate,” said Steve Keener, national spokesman for Little League Baseball at Williamsport, Pa.

However, the man who headed the U.S Product Safety Commission study disagrees.

“Parents should be aware of that danger, and they should take some precautions,” said Albert King, dean of bioengineering at Wayne State University in Detroit.

“Nobody should be getting hurt that badly playing baseball,” he said. “It’s a nonviolent, non-contact sport.”

The federal study was initiated after an early study found that nearly half of the 51 baseball deaths among children 4 to 14 were from baseballs striking the chest.

Some of the 23 such cases from 1973 to 1983 came during organized youth league games. Others died during neighborhood sandlot games. A 4-year-old was killed playing catch with his father.

The report concluded that a child’s chest wall isn’t always sturdy enough to protect against the 60-m.p.h. speed of the average youth baseball pitch.

National Little League Baseball officials concluded after reading the report that the incidents were too rare to justify requiring child pitchers and batters to wear chest protectors, as the study panel recommended.

Jeffrey Wojicks, the victim’s father, criticized Little League officials for not following the panel’s advice.

“If they had information that children should wear chest protection and did nothing about it, then I’m frustrated,” Wojick said. “It’s not going to bring my son back. But I’m willing to take it to the Little League to help make the game safe for other kids.”