In the space of ten months, my son has morphed from a neophyte with an oversized Whiffle club to an obsessive Major League Imitator. He rolls up his uniform pants to his knees, like his pal. He wears his batting gloves (batting gloves?) hanging out of his back pocket. He wears cleats. When we play dingerball, he pitches from the stretch and pretends to shake off the catcher. Who isn't there.
And now, after two weeks of playing with an aluminum bat, he would very much pretty please like to have one of his own. I've thought about it and decided it isn't a problem, despite the rumors that aluminum bats are more dangerous than wooden ones, because the catastrophic injuries, though understandably devastating for the victims, have been rare, and the reports keep coming off as cheap, media fearmongering. Plus, these injuries happen with older players who've learned to mash line drives, rather than 6-year-olds who hit dribblers that barely make it out of the infield.
Besides, he already uses one every Saturday. How will owning his own bat affect whatever risk exists?
I need to research this more, in order to reassure certain other members of the family who are afraid that aluminum bats are pure evil and should all be melted down and used for Mr Pibb cans.
What's your take on this?
