After reading the post on Al’s Fastball about the “Wood Bat Classic” in Pennsylvania, I wrote to Steve Banasik and asked him for a bit of background as to how the PA Wood Bat league and tournament got started. Below is his reply, which he was kind enough to permit me to include here:
The fact of the matter about the wooden bats came about at the end of last year. Every pitcher in the league (every) had been line drived, four third baseman had taken line shots to the chest and numerous games ended up with a 5’0″ second baseman hitting a check swing homerun. That’s not the way this game was meant to be played. The outfielders are playing up next to the fences and if you’re an infielder, getting to a ball that is not rifled right at you, well was an automatic gimme hit.
I searched for a solution just as every player has for an answer to the problem. A softer ball, Less charged bats and even the thoughts of moving the mound back, but those weren’t the right answers. I pitched my first game at the age of 12, Wooden bats were the rule then and the aluminium bat had just come out. I could remember how the game used to be and wanted to put things back into perspective. The answer was simple,,, Keep the game in 1972. Wooden bats, a non poly cored ball and put the word “game” back into the sport.
In mid season, our league adopted a trial game schedule so that every team would have to use wooden bats. The result was overwhelming. Games became exciting again. Fielders had to field the ball, make good throws and of course hit the ball true. It took a matter of two weeks for the league to make the change. Just last night the game in our league finished 2-1. The game was won on a fielding error allowing the winning team to score 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th. Plays are now exciting. In the first game of the evening, a baltimore chop over the pitcher was fielded by the third baseman who made the putout at third. There were 8 bunts and 2 slap hits, 12 pop outs….
The bat company that we are using at the present time (BWP Bat, LLC.) Also make MLB bats. Johnny Damone used one of their bats in the world series (he hit the homerun heard round the world with it), but we as a league are looking at a bat company that will work a little more with us, rather than “We” having to work for them. Just one other note. As a league we used to have 30 to 40 fans in the stands at each game (outside of players) now we fill our bleachers…. Some say that since the game has changed to a point that each game at the park is more exciting than watching tv, others say that it reminds them of the old days… Myself I think that we should even change the lookback rule to the way it was in the 60’s and 70’s and let the game be the game it was meant to be.
Many Thanks
Steven L. Banasick
Scottdale, PA
Southwestern PA Fay-West Fastpitch League
And still more:
