Once baseball players join the professional ranks, their days of playing games with metal bats are effectively over. It’s all wood bats, and there’s a very good reason for that:
It’s legitimately dangerous for MLB players to use a metal bat. Just look at what happens when Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got to use one in a home run derby.
When a HR Derby champ gets a metal bat … pic.twitter.com/zQDLgs7QuH
— MLB (@MLB) December 11, 2023
MLB’s Twitter/X account shared a video from the weekend’s charity home run derby in Puerto Rico where Guerrero put on an absolute show with a metal bat. If you think he hits baseballs hard with a wood bat, that video put into perspective just how big a difference a metal bat makes.
Any person within 600 feet of that stadium was in danger. We won’t see MLB take a similar approach with its home run derby unless the league wants to clear out the stands and kids in the outfield.
But still, that video was incredible and MLB fans’ jaws collectively dropped watching it. Those were some serious moonshots.
This was how Twitter reacted
Watching the trajectory of these nuke jobs really makes you realize that you’ve never truly hit a ball hard in your entire life https://t.co/xbKRHyLYXT
— Not Gaetti (@notgaetti) December 11, 2023
I would like to start a petition to make metal bats legal in the MLB Home Run Derby. https://t.co/lRcKzdutQB
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) December 11, 2023
Every one of those baseballs killed someone in the next town over https://t.co/8OHUeujsz1
— bruss (@Bruss35) December 11, 2023
the little kids in the outfield would all be killed https://t.co/4UsVdQzLjn
— frank (@realfrankbrank) December 11, 2023
The 4th one he hit looked legitimately dangerous to anyone closer than 450 feet. https://t.co/f9rmz6svwv
— ethan wilkinson (@ethanawilkinson) December 11, 2023
Replace the Home Run Derby with a metal bat distance challenge presented by Top Golf https://t.co/vjAyePc8kB
— Mike (@hammerito) December 11, 2023
Anyone interested in taking some infield work at third base? https://t.co/xzcYenJGrL
— Travis Sawchik (@Travis_Sawchik) December 11, 2023
😮💨😮💨😮💨 so addicting to watch https://t.co/Umd46VEK9v
— Pete Gottschalk (@SimplyPG13) December 11, 2023
I want to watch all the mlb hitters do this so bad.
I'm sure you'd have to empty the stadium or net everything.
But I wanna the rockets. https://t.co/kle3EzJ5IY— AAisthemysteryteam (@RyanLottinger) December 11, 2023
There isn’t enough money on the planet for me to play third base while this was happening. https://t.co/BsAvV6aBX5
— Brad Shepard (@Brad_Shepard) December 11, 2023
Metal bat in the final round of the MLB HR Derby. Who says no?
(besides the medical personnel that are treating the fans in the outfield bleachers for injuries?) https://t.co/zW31inIeYo
— Lindsay Crosby, big baseball guy (@CrosbyBaseball) December 11, 2023
Does it count as a home run if the ball burns up in orbit? https://t.co/wmFdyAM0CD
— Peter Shepert (@PistolPetestar) December 11, 2023
