Today, his family is suing Easton in federal court, claiming that it was the opponents' bat — an Easton BT265 — that was responsible for leaving Jake deaf in his left ear.
In their lawsuit targeting Easton, his family argues that the wildly popular metal bats are designed to send balls off the bat at such great velocity, young players don't have a chance to react.
Easton would not comment on the lawsuit.
The so-called "trampoline effect" of a metal bat that sends the ball sailing and makes them so popular is the very reason the family's lawyer, Antonio M. Romanucci, says they're dangerous."They advertise these bats as hitting balls through cement walls," says Romanucci. "They have tremendous exit speed. These bats are being put in the hands of some kids who are strong."
Of course, the first reaction that many will have to this will be that it's just another frivolous case in lawsuit-happy America. If you can't sue an auto maker for a routine accident, how can you sue the batmaker when the bat was being used for its intended purpose and involved no malfunction?
My reaction is that I like the lawsuit if for no other reason than it will call attention to a lot of the serious injuries that have been caused by metal bats in youth leagues. I haven't done the research to know if we need a total ban of metal bats — something places like North Dakota and New York City have done — but I do know that it's a discussion worth having as young players keep playing on smaller diamonds with technology that keeps getting more powerful.
What do you think?
Karen Carreno Bijou Phillips Marika Dominczyk Dita Von Teese
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