Injuries Raise Concerns for Fairfield Ballplayers

Lenore Campbell considers herself lucky that she was not at her son Hunter’s baseball game a few weeks ago. She said she might not have been able to handle what happened.

Hunter was pitching for the Country Cow Deli A’s in the Fairfield National Little League when a batted ball came back straight at him, hitting him in the face, knocking out a baby tooth and sending him to the hospital. Two pitches later, his replacement took a similar shot to the chest, also requiring a trip to the hospital. Campbell called it “traumatic,” but both boys got back on the field the next game.

“I think as a parent you always do" have worries, Campbell says. “But you’ve just got to get back on the horse.”

Last week, the parents of Hayden Walton realized Campbell’s fears. The 13-year-old from Winslow, Ariz., squared up to bunt in a game Tuesday night, but a wild throw from the pitcher hit him in the chest. According to reports from The Associated Press, Walton walked away after the strike but collapsed after a few steps. He died the next morning.

Even before Walton’s death, Little League baseball had been taking steps to keep kids safer. In December, the international organization banned “composite” bats for this season. Unlike solid aluminum or wood bats, composites have a layer of graphite inside an alloy shell. As a result, the ball springs off them at much faster speeds.

The new rule was just the latest in a series of changes over the last five years to curb injuries. For example, starting in 2008, the league ordered that all bases have to be able to pop off their anchors when runners slide into them, limiting leg and ankle injuries.

Another Fairfield National parent, Mike Fitzpatrick, says these changes are “a step in the right direction,” but he says the league can go even further. His son, Dan, also pitches for the A’s, and Fitzpatrick says he’d like to see Fairfield National switch to wooden bats to limit the speed of batted balls.

But for now, neither the Campbells nor the Fitzpatricks say they’ll keep their kids off the field. “I think [Dan] can handle it,” Fitzpatrick said. “There’s always that 1 percent chance, but it’s the same chance your take walking down Park Avenue.”

What rule changes do you think Little Leagues can adopt to keep kids safer? Share your ideas in the comments below.

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