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In summer 2002, REAL SPORTS examined the dangers of aluminum baseball bats. The report explored a frightening incident that occurred in May 2001, when Wellesley (Mass.) High pitcher Bill Hughto was struck in the temple by a line drive off an aluminum bat, with devastating results: His skull was broken and an artery severed, forcing doctors to perform emergency surgery that required a set of screws to hold the shattered bones together. A sophomore at the time of the accident, Hughto underwent a long, arduous recovery and returned to the mound the following season. Coaches and parents, citing the danger from the "pop" of a ball powered by an aluminum barrel, lobbied the league to switch to conventional wooden bats. The league complied, as did other leagues in Massachusetts, but the large majority of high school leagues around the country, as well as the NCAA, have resisted the change. REAL SPORTS' Armen Keteyian updates the story with fresh interviews..
Correspondent: Armen Keteyian
Producers: Andrew Bennett/Nick Dolin
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