Family of 14-year-old boy hit by baseball holds onto hope
Steven Domalewski moves his head to kiss his mother, but all he can manage are slurping sounds in front of her lips. His head flops onto her shoulder, spent from the effort.
Less than two years ago, Domalewski was a happy, healthy star pitcher on a youth baseball team coached by his father. He loved martial arts, climbed every tree on the block and zoomed down his street on inline skates. He once shot an arrow into the wall of his basement rec room.
Now Domalewski is severely disabled, left with brain damage after being struck in the chest by a line drive that stopped his heart while he was playing in a youth baseball game.
His family plans to file a lawsuit Monday against the maker of the metal bat that was used in the game, against Little League Baseball and a sporting goods chain that sold the bat. The family contends metal baseball bats are inherently unsafe for youth games because the ball comes off them much faster than from wooden bats.
There has been a string of injuries the past two decades involving metal bats launching balls that have killed or maimed young players across the country. The Domalewskis’ lawyer claims bat manufacturers put speed ahead of safety; one even advertised a bat so powerful it is capable of ‘beaning the third baseman’ with a line drive.
Attorney Ernest Fronzuto says Domalewski will needs millions of dollars worth of medical care for the rest of his life.
Other than the word ‘Yeah,’ which he repeats over and over, or ‘Dadada’ which he sometimes utters when he sees his father, Steven cannot speak. He also can’t walk or stand on his own, and needs help with everything from using the bathroom to eating.
‘My son is serving a sentence, and the only thing he did was pitch to an aluminum bat,’ said his father, Joseph Domalewski.
”
Steven Domalewski’s life changed forever on June 6, 2006, an overcast evening in which his Tomascovic Chargers were playing the Gensinger Motors team on the Wayne Police Athletic League field.
Domalewski was pitching, on the mound 45 feet from home plate. He wasn’t a hard thrower, but he had excellent control. In the fourth inning, the first two batters reached base. He went to a full count on the third batter.
What happened next unfolded in a flash, but has resulted in an agonizing, slow-motion purgatory for Steven and his family.
The batter rocketed a shot off a 31-ounce metal bat. The ball slammed into Steven’s chest, just above his heart, knocking him backward. He clutched his chest, then made a motion to reach for the ball on the ground to pick it up and throw to first base.
But he never made it that far. The ball had struck his chest at the precise millisecond between heartbeats, sending him into cardiac arrest, according to his doctors. He crumpled to the ground and stopped breathing.
His father, a school teacher who had been on the sideline, and a third base coach from the other team ran onto the field. Steven already was turning blue.
Someone yelled, ‘Call 911!’ Within 90 seconds, a man trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation who had been playing catch with his 9-year-old daughter jumped the fence and started to work on Steven.
Paramedics, who were a quarter-mile away doing a CPR demonstration, arrived within minutes. They placed an oxygen mask over Steven’s face and rushed him to a hospital. But the damage had been done; his brain had been without oxygen for 15 to 20 minutes.
‘Pretty much, he died,’ Joseph Domalewski said, wiping away tears. ‘It was just so fast. The thud, you could hear. When it hit him, that seemed to echo.’
”
The lawsuit is to be filed in state Superior Court in Passaic County, naming Hillerich & Bradsby Co., maker of the Louisville Slugger TPX Platinum bat.
The suit also will name Little League Baseball and the Sports Authority, which sold the bat. It claims the defendants knew, or should have known, the bat was dangerous for children to use, according to the family’s attorney.
Hillerich & Bradsby said Domalewski’s injury, called commotio cordis, happens more often in baseball from thrown balls than batted ones.
‘Our 124-year old, fifth-generation family-owned company never wants to see anyone injured playing baseball, the game we love,’ the company said in a statement. ‘But injuries do occur in sports. While unfortunate, these are accidents. We sympathize with Steven and his family, but our bat is not to blame for his injury.’
Stephen Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League Baseball, declined to comment on Domalewski’s case, but said in a statement, ‘Little League will continue its strong commitment to player safety, and we feel our well-documented record of safety in youth baseball speaks for itself.’
Representatives of The Sports Authority did not return repeated telephone messages.
WAYNE, N.J. (AP) ‘ She wraps her arms around her son, gently raising the spindly 14-year-old boy off a couch to his feet. She hugs him and rubs his back, whispering ‘I love you’ over and over.
Steven Domalewski moves his head to kiss his mother, but all he can manage are slurping sounds in front of her lips. His head flops onto her shoulder, spent from the effort.
Less than two years ago, Domalewski was a happy, healthy star pitcher on a youth baseball team coached by his father. He loved martial arts, climbed every tree on the block and zoomed down his street on inline skates. He once shot an arrow into the wall of his basement rec room.
Now Domalewski is severely disabled, left with brain damage after being struck in the chest by a line drive that stopped his heart while he was playing in a youth baseball game.
His family plans to file a lawsuit Monday against the maker of the metal bat that was used in the game, against Little League Baseball and a sporting goods chain that sold the bat. The family contends metal baseball bats are inherently unsafe for youth games because the ball comes off them much faster than from wooden bats.
There has been a string of injuries the past two decades involving metal bats launching balls that have killed or maimed young players across the country. The Domalewskis’ lawyer claims bat manufacturers put speed ahead of safety; one even advertised a bat so powerful it is capable of ‘beaning the third baseman’ with a line drive.
Attorney Ernest Fronzuto says Domalewski will needs millions of dollars worth of medical care for the rest of his life.
Other than the word ‘Yeah,’ which he repeats over and over, or ‘Dadada’ which he sometimes utters when he sees his father, Steven cannot speak. He also can’t walk or stand on his own, and needs help with everything from using the bathroom to eating.
‘My son is serving a sentence, and the only thing he did was pitch to an aluminum bat,’ said his father, Joseph Domalewski.
”
Steven Domalewski’s life changed forever on June 6, 2006, an overcast evening in which his Tomascovic Chargers were playing the Gensinger Motors team on the Wayne Police Athletic League field.
Domalewski was pitching, on the mound 45 feet from home plate. He wasn’t a hard thrower, but he had excellent control. In the fourth inning, the first two batters reached base. He went to a full count on the third batter.
What happened next unfolded in a flash, but has resulted in an agonizing, slow-motion purgatory for Steven and his family.
The batter rocketed a shot off a 31-ounce metal bat. The ball slammed into Steven’s chest, just above his heart, knocking him backward. He clutched his chest, then made a motion to reach for the ball on the ground to pick it up and throw to first base.
But he never made it that far. The ball had struck his chest at the precise millisecond between heartbeats, sending him into cardiac arrest, according to his doctors. He crumpled to the ground and stopped breathing.
His father, a school teacher who had been on the sideline, and a third base coach from the other team ran onto the field. Steven already was turning blue.
Someone yelled, ‘Call 911!’ Within 90 seconds, a man trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation who had been playing catch with his 9-year-old daughter jumped the fence and started to work on Steven.
Paramedics, who were a quarter-mile away doing a CPR demonstration, arrived within minutes. They placed an oxygen mask over Steven’s face and rushed him to a hospital. But the damage had been done; his brain had been without oxygen for 15 to 20 minutes.
‘Pretty much, he died,’ Joseph Domalewski said, wiping away tears. ‘It was just so fast. The thud, you could hear. When it hit him, that seemed to echo.’
”
The lawsuit is to be filed in state Superior Court in Passaic County, naming Hillerich & Bradsby Co., maker of the Louisville Slugger TPX Platinum bat.
The suit also will name Little League Baseball and the Sports Authority, which sold the bat. It claims the defendants knew, or should have known, the bat was dangerous for children to use, according to the family’s attorney.
Hillerich & Bradsby said Domalewski’s injury, called commotio cordis, happens more often in baseball from thrown balls than batted ones.
‘Our 124-year old, fifth-generation family-owned company never wants to see anyone injured playing baseball, the game we love,’ the company said in a statement. ‘But injuries do occur in sports. While unfortunate, these are accidents. We sympathize with Steven and his family, but our bat is not to blame for his injury.’
Stephen Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League Baseball, declined to comment on Domalewski’s case, but said in a statement, ‘Little League will continue its strong commitment to player safety, and we feel our well-documented record of safety in youth baseball speaks for itself.’
Representatives of The Sports Authority did not return repeated telephone messages.