No winners here

By: Mike Lange

Parents in Wayne, N.J. have filed a lawsuit against a bat maker, a league and a store because their son, Steven Domalewski, was struck by a batted ball in the chest during a youth baseball game while pitching. The injury caused Steven’s heart to stop, causing his brain deprived of oxygen for 15 minutes, which has left him brain damaged and severely handicapped. Named in the lawsuit are Hillerich & Bradsby Co., the makers of the Louisville Slugger TPX Platinum bat, Little League Baseball and the Sports Authority where the bat was purchased. The basis of the lawsuit is that all parties should have known that the bat was inherently dangerous and should have never been used in a youth game.

While I empathize with the Stephen and his family, the idea that of everything that caused this accident, the bat was to blame, and therefore the bat manufacturer, Little League baseball and the store where the bat was purchased is ridiculous. Ernest Fronzuto, the family’s attorney, is simply looking to make a name for himself. He, in typical lawyer fashion, is taking a tragic situation and trying to make some money off of it by playing on the emotions of a devastated family.

The fact is that Steven was playing sports and, unfortunately, injuries are a part of the game. While this was a serious injury, it was part of something that can happen in baseball and no amount of money won from a lawsuit will change that. The notion that this never would have happened if the players were using wood, rather than aluminum, bats is absurd. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System studied the number deaths occurring in baseball activities from 1991-2001. While more of the 17 deaths resulting from batted balls were caused by metal bats than wood bats, there were more deaths that resulted from thrown balls than metal and wood bats combined! Perhaps we should head to Washington to outlaw baseballs and replace them with whiffleballs or spongeballs. The fact is that while the entire situation is very unfortunate, it was an accident.

Hillerich & Bradsby Co. cannot be at fault because there is little or no data supporting the claim that metal bats, and more specifically the 31-inch, 19-ounce Louisville Slugger TPX Platinum, are inherently more dangerous than wood bats. There is an inherent risk in playing baseball. There is an even greater risk in playing pitcher. The circumstances surrounding this event were like the perfect storm; everything had to be just right for everything to go so wrong. If this were a wood bat, would the parents be trying to sue the bat company because wood bats are dangerous? The pitcher is throwing the ball in one direction while a person with a long, blunt object is trying to hit it back in the direction from which it came. These types of injuries are bound to happen.

Little League Baseball should be in the clear. Not only can the bat not be proven to be more dangerous, but the injury didn’t even occur in a Little League sanctioned game. Steven was pitching in a Police Athletic League game. This is the equivalent of getting food poisoning at a Wendy’s and then suing McDonald’s because they are both fast food companies.
And, finally, I can see no way in which The Sports Authority can be charged with anything in this case. The sporting goods store simply sold a bat to a customer. Now, if they sold a rifle to a 15-year-old kid who went on a shooting spree the next day, I would be all in favor of holding them responsible. But if proper sales discretion is used, no store should ever be responsible for how their products are used. Anything can be used as a weapon. If a person killed another person by strangling them with a jump rope, nobody would be suing Toys R Us. If a husband suffocates his wife with a pillow, is Bed Bath & Beyond now liable? The answer is no!

This is truly a situation where there are no winners. The Domalewski family loses because their son was seriously injured while playing a game they love and may never recover. Hillerich & Bradsby Co., Little League Baseball and The Sports Authority all lose because of all of the negative publicity they will receive during this case. And, believe it or not, I am sure that all three “defendants” feel horrible about what happened. Youth baseball loses because all anyone will hear in the media for months will be related to how dangerous baseball can be. And, if there is any justice, Ernest Fronzuto will lose because he is trying to take advantage of a tragedy.

So how do we create winners? First, everyone should save face by negotiating out of court. The Domalewski family should drop their lawsuit, and Hillerich & Bradsby Co., Little League Baseball and The Sports Authority should create a charity to aide families who have children seriously injured while playing baseball and each should donate a large sum. Donations should be sought from all of the companies that sponsor the Little League World Series. At least this way the only loser is a lawyer. Who doesn’t like that ending?

For more information, see these stories:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BOYS_BASEBALL_INJURY?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BBY_BOYS_BASEBALL_INJURY?SITE=VANOV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2007-06-03-bats-cover_N.htm

Tags: baseball, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ernest Fronzuto, Hillerich & Bradsby Co., Little League Baseball, Little League World Series, Louisville Slugger, McDonald's, metal bat, Police Athletic League, Sports Authority, Steven Domalewski, Toys R Us, Wendy's, wood bat

Mike Lange is a graduate of University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and a first-time blogger, so go easy on him. His opinions come from a lifetime of living in Las Vegas without a professional sports team. Therefore, no geographical bias (except the ever popular anti-Yankee bias) will be evident. Mike likes to think he knows a lot about a little and a little about a lot in the world of sports and in general.

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