O/T: H&B liable for player's death

[cjclong]

Re: O/T: H&B liable for player's death

I agree, this is a bad verdict. Why not sue because a soft rubber ball wasn't used. I hope H&B can appeal the verdict. You feel very sorry for parents whose son is killed, that is tragic. But I don't feel sympathy for people who can't or won't accept that accidents happen and/or just try to milk a tragedy for money.

[staindsox]

Re: O/T: H&B liable for player's death

I completely agree with you. One of my best friends played college ball and was almost killed (exact same accident). He had to have emergency surgery to save his life...he didn't sue Easton or H&B. It would actually have made more sense to sue the league since they were the ones to determine which bats were acceptable...not just aluminum vs. wood, but also the weight to length ratios. I doubt the league has the deep pockets H&B does, so...how is this not about money??? He could have been killed with a wooden bat too, so blaming the manufacturer for something like this is pretty stupid. I can't believe a jury bought this.

Chris

[kylehess10]

Re: O/T: H&B liable for player's death

This is ridiculous. I'm surprised they didn't sue Rawlings as well for making baseballs "too hard". Accidents happen.


I loved this quote though:

"All teams should use wooden bats, the way professional players do, Debbie Patch added."


Maybe she should try playing with wooden bats. They just aren't the same. I just finished my first season in a wooden bat league and they are MUCH harder to use. I had my fair share of hits but there is a big difference in distance. I don't believe little leagues should ever use wooden bats. Those little kids wouldn't be able to handle it. It should stay in the 18+ leagues (as well as professional leagues too ofcoarse).

[Birdbats]

http://www.helenair.com/news/article_17304d04-c44f-11de-b8fa-001cc4c03286.html

I feel bad this family lost their son, and I've never been a fan of aluminum bats. But, to suggest H&B should pay the family almost $800K for "failing to warn users of the danger of its aluminum bats and that this failure caused the accident" -- that's idiotic. Is there anyone who was involved in baseball in 2003 who didn't know aluminum bats were more dangerous than wood bats? And look at that wording: the "failure to warn... CAUSED the accident." This is a sad story that keeps getting sadder.