California league bans metal bats after 16-year-old pitcher suffers brain injury

Calif. league bans metal bats after pitcher hurt

LARKSPUR, Calif. — The Marin County Athletic League is banning the use of metal baseball bats at high school games for the rest of the season after a 16-year-old pitcher was hit by a line drive and suffered a brain injury.

The league’s board voted unanimously Thursday to impose the ban, requiring its 10 teams to use wooden bats.

Advocates of the ban believe metal bats allow players to hit the ball harder, reducing a pitcher’s reaction time. Others say there’s no proof that metal bats cause more injury than wooden ones.

Gunnar Sandberg has been in critical condition since getting struck in the head by a line drive during a Marin Catholic High School practice game two weeks ago. Doctors had to remove a part of his skull to relieve brain swelling.