A hall of fame coach with more than 1,300 career wins, Archbishop Molloy's Jack Curran has been a proponent of the metal bat ban. Courtesy of Jack Curran

Opponents of the bill charge that the ban, which would take effect Sept. 1, smacks of politics and disregard for the financial means of schools. Saying that he has "scrimped, saved, begged, and struggled to raise money for bats [priced] at a minimum of $300 apiece", Mandl, who hits fielding practice to his players with his black Louisville Slugger on the brand new synthetic grass field that cost $3.5-4 million to build, finds the bill to lack authenticity. "Coaches have the best interest of our players," Mandl says. "Wouldn't we speak out against the metal if we saw a danger?"

It is safety and risk that wood proponents put first and second in their lineup of issues. James Oddo, the Staten Island Democrat who sponsored the bill, contends that bat companies are trying to protect their bottom lines instead of the best interests of the players. "There is risk in all sports, but there is an accepted level of risk in the baseball family as exhibited at the professional level with wood," Oddo says. "I'm not saying that 200 kids, 20, or five kids will die from batted balls, but when the stars align and the ball does happen to connect in a fatal manner, that kid has no chance."

In recent years, bat companies have aggressively marketed their new technology but have mentioned power sparingly. Having become more sensitive to wording in advertising, some bats still speak for themselves, though, in terms of speed. On Rawlings's Web site, a bat named "Rush" with the word spelled out in bright yellow letters across the barrel costs $349.99 and Rawlings offers metal bats named "Velocity" and "Ambush." On the Louisville Slugger's Web site, two youth league bats are named "Samurai" and "Slash." A senior league bat is named "Catalyst."

"If you name a bat 'Baseball Bat' the kids are going to go to the competitors with better graphics and catchier names," says Rick Redman, a spokesman for Louisville Slugger, which sells both wood and metal bats.

Adding to the marketing bomb of the bat producers is the wood bat producer Pinnacle Sports Equipment, which boasts on its Web site to have "the newest weapon in baseball."

A voice from the other side is Archbishop Molloy (Briarwood, N.Y.) coach Jack Curran. Of the league's 24 teams, no other CHSAA coach spoke out against the metal bats, but Curran (who has more than 1,300 career wins) says, "If metal is the same as wood in terms of speed, then why don't the pros use it? It's because no one would want to play the infield with the ball coming off so fast."

Many of Mandl's players, especially those who aspire to play at a higher level believe wood is the way of the future. "We're all looking to get to the top level and they use wood, so why not get used to the smaller sweet spot and operating with a slower swing at any earlier age?" said senior shortstop Raymond Quinones, who uses a wood bat every day.

Still, Mandl has his questions about wood's safety. "Last fall at the World Wood Bat Games I saw eight broken bats in a double header," says Mandl. "I see a helluva lot more potential injury with broken wood splintering all over than I do with metal."

The debate will be continued in federal court with a challenge to the ordinance scheduled to be filed sometime this week. However, many players believe that the ban's arguments for eliminating risk ring true. "You can kill someone with metal," Quinones says. "I'm not scared on the field, but that's the truth."