Arizona Little Leaguer Killed After Pitch Hits Chest

[rmabrey]

But a ball that strikes his chest at that angle is not direct and would not deliver enough force to kill him. That's what I'm saying.

wrong

 

[adam]

The point is kids will be bunting at some point. They will get the sign from their coach and their only focus will be to use the form they've been taught and bunt. All it takes is a high and inside pitch and they will be hit. These are kids and not pros, they will turn their bodies for leverage.

I said earlier that kids are coached wrong.

 

[adam]

Do you know that for a fact? Maybe we can get CSI to go to the little league diamond and figured out the angles.

wrong

Fine, it'd be less likely to kill than a direct hit.

 

[barber613]

The odds of this happening are very slim. The ball has to make impact at exactly the wrong time in the heartbeat.

 

[jsharmon7]

Part of the problem with the yearly deaths is the bats. Pony leagues (13+) around here are using composite bats. Bats similar to those used on the college level. Now I have played baseball/slow pitch softball every year for the last 20 years. I can barely react to a softball hit by a composite bat sometimes, yet a 13 year old is expected to react to a baseball on a slightly smaller field. There is your problem.

I had never thought about the little leaguers using composite bats. I've been playing adult slow pitch softball since I was 13 (26 now) and the equipment has evolved incredibly since even I started. It used to be aluminum bats, then double wall, then the controversial triple walls, now all the way to composite. Even "dumbing down" the balls hasn't helped a whole lot. They really don't need to be letting these kids use composite bats, they just don't have the experience and reaction time to compensate for the speed.

 

[Mr. Habib]

My daughter's 8U team has at least 3 girls with composite bats. I wonder just how much more ball speed an 8 year old girl can get from a $300 bat.

 

[GLOCKBOY]

I'm an old geeezer and haven't played ball in a million years, but composit bats? Holy cow, an aluminum bat was wiz-bang in the day. (I feel sooooo old)

 

[rmabrey]

My daughter's 8U team has at least 3 girls with composite bats. I wonder just how much more ball speed an 8 year old girl can get from a $300 bat.

I know that adult slow pitch ASA bats are rated for no more than 90mph. These are the bats used all over the country (except in my city ). Not sure about fast pitch softball or what an 8 y/o can do but comparable to their age the bats are too much

 

[jsharmon7]

I know that adult slow pitch ASA bats are rated for no more than 90mph. These are the bats used all over the country (except in my city ). Not sure about fast pitch softball or what an 8 y/o can do but comparable to their age the bats are too much

I forgot you guys in Evansville are ASA, I don't know that I've ever played anything but NSA and USSSA.

Those kids really don't need composite bats though. Let them learn on standard aluminum. Composite bats aren't going to help the average kid all that much, but the ones who hit the ball hard are going to hurt the other kids.

 

[rmabrey]

I forgot you guys in Evansville are ASA, I don't know that I've ever played anything but NSA and USSSA.

Those kids really don't need composite bats though. Let them learn on standard aluminum. Composite bats aren't going to help the average kid all that much, but the ones who hit the ball hard are going to hurt the other kids.

Not only are we ASA, the best ASA bat we are allowed to use is the Demarini Steel. We dont get to use any of the good ASA bats unless its a tourney

 

[PistolBob]

But a ball that strikes his chest at that angle is not direct and would not deliver enough force to kill him. That's what I'm saying.

I guess you're wrong because the child is dead as dead gets.

 

[ElsiePeaRN]

What a tragedy! I just can't imagine what this family and community are going through.

Regarding some of the suggestions on this thread, the angle of the hit to the chest is not necessarily going to make much difference unless the chest is on [STRIKE]a right angle[/STRIKE] the same plane as the ball which would avoid the blow. Any blunt force to the chest directly over the heart at a specific brief period of time in the heart's rhythm can cause cardiac arrest. This is due to Ventricular Fibrillation, which makes the heart sort of "quiver" ineffectively, rather than beat well enough to pump blood. This can be from a pitch, a line drive, a hockey puck, a shoulder in a football game, or a lacrosse stick or ball.

I remember reading a study sometime last year that tested a bunch of different chest protectors used in baseball and lacrosse. They found that they did not reduce the risk of this occurring. I think that there are soft balls which make a softer impact which do lessen the risk, but sort of suck for playing little league. But chest protectors were not effective.

A better idea would be to save the money on chest protectors and have every league buy an automatic defibrillator. Fast defibrillation is the best chance of converting this arrhythmia to a normal heart rhythm.

 

[ATOMonkey]

It probably doesn't help that pitchers are taught to throw at a bunting batter. At least that's what I was taught. Never did it though.

We don't need all kinds of chest protectors and face protectors and what not.

What we need are wood bats, and Umps that will throw out a wild pitcher. Throw strikes or sit down.

 

[ATOMonkey]

I agree with Miss Elsie too. Having a battery powered defibrilator and someone who can use it quickly is the best thing to do since we can't account for every kind of accident that could ever possibly happen.

There are plenty of young kids who drop dead from un-diagnosed heart disease as well, and having a jump starter there would go a long way towards saving a lot of them.

 

[Clay]

Bunting was allowed in my little league here in Indiana.

it was allowed when I played years ago, and my son plays now and there is no rule against it.