Oak Lawn, Ill. ? Bill Kalant never had a chance to get out of the way of the baseball that put him, as doctors told his father, “on the cliff of death.”

The pitcher’s parents, sitting a few feet away, heard the familiar “ping” of ball hitting metal bat, followed an instant later by a sickening thud, but never caught a glimpse of the ball. The position of Kalant’s body – still bent over from throwing a pitch, his glove near the ground – led coaches to conclude they’d never witnessed a ball hit so hard.

Moments later, the 16-year-old Oak Lawn High School sophomore lost consciousness. Even before he came out of a coma two weeks later, he was thrust into an emotional debate over the use of aluminum bats.

At issue is whether aluminum bats have made baseball unnecessarily dangerous. On one side are those who say baseballs fly off those bats much faster than they do wood bats and have led to severe injuries and, in a handful of cases, death. On the other side are those who say balls travel no faster off aluminum bats and that there is no evidence they put players at greater risk of injury.

Around the country, after decades of using aluminum bats, a small but growing number of college and high school leagues are switching to wood bats.

In Illinois, where Kalant was injured and a college pitcher had his skull fractured last year, the state high school association hopes to put wood bats in the hands of players in several conferences next year to study injuries, run production and costs. And in Chicago, the coordinator of the public school district’s high school league says he’s seen enough of aluminum bats and wants to switch to wood as soon as possible.

Earlier this week, an American Legion team in Montana forfeited two games because its opponent would not play with wood bats. The Miles City Mavericks haven’t faced aluminum bats in the nearly three years since pitcher Brandon Patch died when a line drive off an aluminum bat struck his head.

Starting next season in North Dakota, every high school team will use wood bats – a move officials say was prompted by discussions that started after Patch’s death.