Sometimes bats and helmets are, too.

It's a miracle that more children aren't hurt. Maybe it's dumb luck. Or, maybe guardian angels are at work.

As a volunteer coach, one of my greatest fears is that someone will get hurt. Baseball is a difficult game to play, especially for young children.

Even playing a simple game of catch can be an adventure. Thrown balls have been known to ricochet off gloves, arms and, occasionally, heads.

Statistics provide plenty of fodder for my concern. According to figures released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 775,000 children ages 5-14 are treated in hospital emergency rooms for sports-related injuries each year.

That number doesn't include children who are treated at sports clinics and doctor's offices. Educated estimates of the total number of injuries begin at more than 5 million each year.

Nationally recognized youth sports expert Fred Engh says it's ridiculous for children to pay such a steep price for a piece of short-lived glory.

"They may have helped the team with the championship or earned a shiny MVP trophy for themselves, but if it means not being able to play catch 20 years from now with their own kids, or not being able to bend over pain-free and scoop them up for a hug, it obviously isn't worth it," said Engh.

Youth-league sports are designed and run by adults. Are we making every reasonable attempt to keep the games as safe as possible?

Abilities vary greatly among young children. Who can blame an undersized 10-year-old for trembling a bit while a bigger, stronger and more developed 10-year-old hurls a fastball in the general vicinity of home plate? Yet children are told to "stay in there and hang tough."

Hanging tough cost Ryan Wojick his life. The 10-year-old boy played for a Little League team in Citrus Park, Fla. Weighing only 63 pounds and a late maturer, he was never expected to become a star athlete, but his parents knew he loved to play, so they encouraged his love of baseball.

Another 10-year-old boy, with an outstanding fastball, threw a pitch high and inside to Ryan. He didn't have time to get out of the way and the ball struck Ryan in the left side of his chest, just above the heart. He was rushed to the hospital by helicopter and pronounced dead on arrival.

Some say it was a freak accident. Stuff happens. They reason that you can't protect kids completely.

Others argue that more needs to be done. Why use such hard balls when children are just developing the physical maturity and coordination required to play the game?

Engh writes, "No, the reason why children are playing with hard balls is the same reason that causes so many of the other problems in youth sports. It is the sickness that a pediatrician diagnosed as 'legalized child abuse.'

"Many adults refuse to put the children's health and safety at the center of their focus when they design youth sports programs. Instead, they force children to conform to their own needs and desires to see an approximation of a professional sports experience. They want to see 'little superstars' acting in accordance with their own yearnings-without regard for the children's well-being."

Engh offers some safer alternatives, such as using a softer version of the hard ball, attaching face shields to batting helmets to prevent facial and eye injuries, and using quick-release bases that give way on hard impact to help reduce sliding injuries.

In a speech to the Safety Summit, Ryan's mother, Jane Wojick, said, "We have watched football evolve from simple shoulder pads and lightweight leather caps to full padding from head to toe. In baseball, we may have improved the equipment, but we have never improved the safety. I did see new stands being built, and a new press box, but I never saw any changes for the child.

"I'm not asking you to change the game; I'm asking you to protect the children. Because we don't take preventive measures, I will never again have the opportunity to hear Ryan say, 'I love you, too, Mom.'"