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Dear New Jersey Little League Volunteer:
Right now there is legislation pending in the New Jersey legislature that would ban aluminum bats from being used in all Little League games throughout the state.
At Little League, nothing is more important to us than child safety and I can report to you that a ban on aluminum bats is not necessary. It will harm our game and make it less enjoyable for the millions of children who safely play the game today, just as it has been safely played for the last forty years.
Unfortunately this ban is also going to cost a lot of money to youth baseball programs. Money that could be spent for educational purposes, will now go to fund the cost of re-supplying broken wood bats for a game that is already considered safe. In addition to the higher costs, we know that wood bats break, shatter and splinter, which introduces other risks to the game.
As you may know, Little League has joined a coalition of parents, coaches and bat makers to oppose this unnecessary ban and now I need your help. Some of you have enthusiastically joined out coalition and I am grateful for that. But today I’m asking you to do two things:
1. Our coalition, “Don’t Take My Bat Away” � www.DTMBA.com � has been working for months to stop the politicians from banning aluminum bats. If you haven’t already joined, I urge you to do so today. If you have joined our coalition, I respectfully ask that you forward this email to three friends and ask them to sign-up.
2. In the coming weeks and months you will receive emails from Phillip Stutts and others in the DTMBA.com coalition. He will be asking you to make a phone call, write a letter or send an email to your local state legislator - to stop the bat ban here in New Jersey. Please don't sit by while baseball's future is dictated by politicians. Your involvement will make a huge difference for the future of baseball. Time is running out for us to stand up to the bat ban. Surely the politicians have more important issues to work on than whether the safe use of aluminum bats should be banned. I hope I can count on your support today.
Sincerely,
Stephen D. Keener Little League International 539 U.S. Route 15 Hwy P.O. Box 3485 Williamsport, PA 17701-0485 Phone: 570-326-1921 Fax: 570-326-1074
P.S. There is a very real chance we could see an aluminum bat ban in New Jersey soon. Please consider logging onto the Don’t Take My Bat Away Coalition’s webpage (www.DTMBA.com) and join Little League, PONY Baseball and Softball, Babe Ruth League, American Softball Association, American Legion Baseball, American Baseball Coaches Association, National Council of Youth Sports, the National High School Baseball Coaches Association, and many other groups that have studied this issue - so we can work together to fight a potential ban.
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