The push to ban metal bats in California suffered a setback Monday when the North Coast Section's board of managers voted overwhelmingly against a proposal from the Marin County Athletic League to have all NCS teams use wood bats during the postseason.
The board voted 35-12 against the proposal, which was submitted in the wake of a horrific head injury suffered by Marin Catholic pitcher Gunnar Sandberg from a line drive off a metal bat.
Sandberg, who recently began walking on his own at a rehabilitation center in San Francisco, was injured on March 11, and two weeks later the MCAL voted to play with wood bats for the remainder of the season. But the league's subsequent proposal to the NCS was met with resistance Monday.
NCS commissioner of athletics Gil Lemmon that, in his research, he did not find compelling evidence that metal bats posed any greater risk than wood bats.
Asked if Monday's vote will put players at heightened risk of injury, Lemmon said, "Absolutely not. If I believed there was a safety factor here, I would not have been recommending to the board that they vote &‘no' on this proposal."
Lemmon, however, believes the issue will be raised again in the fall. In addition, Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, has introduced a bill that would impose a three-year ban on using metal bats.
"This conversation won't die down and that's a good thing," Lemmon said. "We still need to talk about it."
The NCS board of managers is comprised of two representatives from the 21 leagues within the section, in addition to school board representatives and superintendents. Sonoma County League commissioner Dave Ashworth, a nonvoting board member, said the SCL's members felt a switch to wood bats in the playoffs would place non-MCAL teams at a competitive disadvantage.
It is widely accepted that wood bats are more difficult to swing and less forgiving than metal bats.
MCAL teams have been using wood bats for two months, but their postseason opponents would have to make the adjustment on the fly.
"It would have been a major change in such a short amount of time," Ashworth said.
In early April, MCAL teams played in tournaments at Casa Grande and El Molino and those tournaments became wood-bat events in a show of support. But such a stance might be more difficult in the playoffs, when the stakes are higher.
MCAL teams will continue to use wood bats in the playoffs, regardless of what type of bats their opponents use.
Cardinal Newman coach T.J. McMahon, whose team is in second place in the North Bay League, acknowledges he would have a tough decision to make if the Cardinals played an MCAL team in the postseason. If his team switches to wood, it will be at a disadvantage. If it sticks with metal, it could be viewed as disrespecting the MCAL, which switched to wood in an effort to prevent another serious injury.
"If it happens, it's going to be a difficult decision," McMahon said. "You want to do the right thing by respecting what Marin has done and for their reasons behind it ... But when you get to the playoffs you want your team to have as many advantages, or as few disadvantages, as you can."
Sonoma Valley coach Don Lyons fully understands the dilemma. But he said he's already made his decision.
"I would go to wood," Lyons said. "A young man was seriously hurt and we are in that moment. Being in that moment, we would respect and honor that and go to wood. This is not a case where a coach is looking for an advantage or this is being done because there's some sort of agenda."
Staff Writer Derek Moore contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Eric Branch at 521-5268 or eric.branch@pressdemocrat.com.
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