I am a 21 year old former high school baseball player, and sports enthusiast from Cedar Rapids, IA.  I hear stories every year of tragedy such as Brandon.  Whether its an injury suffered at the hands of an aluminum bat, or something much worse than an injury, it still puts a pain in my stomach and tears at the corner of my eyes.
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I used an aluminum bat every game I ever played in, and without a negative result.  But as I grew older, the players threw harder, the batters got stronger, bat speed became crucial to success at the plate.  I saw how fast an 87 mph pitch came off an aluminum bat.  The argument that a pitcher doesn't have enough reaction time to something like that is an understatement.  Enough reaction time?  There is no reaction time.  A muscle can twitch, but and arm cannot defend that quickly.  
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As a pitcher I saw, or rather heard my fair share of line drives whiz right pass my ear, and each time the same shakiness in my legs followed with the thought, "what if that had been 2 inches to the left, I'd never be able to play again."  Talk about naive, I had been worried I'd never play again.  
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As I follow Brandon's story on ESPN and in ESPN magazine, my heart, my prayers and my thoughts reach out to everyone who knew him, and who now miss him.  
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The fact that some people can sit there and defend aluminum bats and accidents such as these as 'part of the game,' eats at my love for baseball.  Taking cars off the road because of auto accidents is impossible and doesn't make much sense.  But changing the material that a baseball bat is made of is completely different.  Not only is it possible, it makes sense.  I was always told that you cannot attach a dollar amount to a person's life.  I see that I was taught very wrong.  To the people who support use of, and manufacturing of aluminum bats, the dollar amount on a person's life is exactly the cost of the bat the opponent is using.  
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If anyone supporting aluminum bats ever reads this email, please know that I am not anyone of consequence.  I am just a baseball player with a love of the game.  Also know, that I support banning all aluminum bats not just for my safetly or my children's future safety, but I support it for YOUR children's safety as well.  Baseball's will always be hit right back at the pitcher as long as the game is played, just give yourself or your kid a chance.  A chance to make a great save, and a chance to save his life.
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I never knew you Brandon, but I miss you.  The world will always be short one great player.
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With love and prayers,<BR>
Ryan <BR>Cedar Rapids, Iowa.