Getting out of the way of the baseball bat isn't the problem, it's the fact that he arbitrarily has an advantage over you due to luck where the item spawned.
As for it being an extreme example, I don't think so at all. Many a match of melee has had people on the wrong end of a short hop laser or turnip spam, and a lucky item can cause the person who was in control of the match to lose for no other reason than the bad luck of the item spawning on the other side of the stage, instead of close to them.
Considering there are still projectiles in Brawl I'm sure there will be characters who's gameplay revolves around using these to control space and items can ruin that for them for no reason other than luck. Until items get put into specific spawn points with specific respawn times FPS style, they will ever be viable for any serious play.