Gunnar Sandberg is in a medically induced coma today after being hit in the head by a line drive that his coach estimates was traveling about 130 miles per hour. Gunner is a junior at Marin Catholic High School. He was pitching against De La Salle High School of Concord during a scrimmage when he was hit just above the right ear. Marin coach Mike Firenzi told the Marin IJ that, “It was the worst thing I’ve ever seen on a baseball field in 23 years of coaching. I haven’t slept for the past two nights thinking about the sound.”
Sandberg was mobile and responsive after the hit, but his parents and teachers weren’t taking any chances, they called 911. It’s a good thing too, because when emergency room doctors did a CT scan they determined that he needed surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. The surgery, done on Friday, removed a portion of his skull to allow for swelling of the brain without compression. He has been in a medically induced temporary coma since then. His doctors estimate that the coma should last three to five days.
But how did a high school hitter get a ball moving so dangerously fast? The players were using lightweight aluminum bats, banned from pro leagues because they allow batters to hit balls at such tremendous speeds. Gunnar is far from the first child to be seriously hurt by a ball hit from an aluminum bat. In fact, if he escapes without brain damage he’ll be luckier than most. New York and North Dakota have banned metal bats in youth baseball and parent groups across the country are lobbying for their local schools and states to do the same.
Another possible step that has been suggested is fitting players, particularly pitchers, with helmets like batters already wear. Since many of the particularly bad injuries due to these high speed drives have been to pitchers who stand directly in the path of the ball, it only makes sense. Bottom line? As Sandberg’s father told the Marin IJ: “We need to make this game safer for the players. These new bats are too powerful. They’re like weapons.”
