I was watching the Cubs' batting practice yesterday at Wrigley Field along the first-base line, hoping that Fukudome would catch a foul ball and possibly toss it my way.
Soriano was taking batting practice, and one of the employees at Wrigley Field was making sure that the people in the section watching batting practice actually had tickets for that section.
A foul ball missed hitting him in the head by about five inches. It didn't seem to faze him one bit. I realized that he works there every game, he's probably been nearly hit many times.
A baseball isn't that big and somewhat easy to avoid. But what if a maple bat had exploded towards him? Would he have been as fortunate?
In the past couple of weeks, there have been a few people at ballparks around the MLB that haven't been as fortunate.
While the MLB is currently focusing on issues such as instant replay for controversial calls, they're turning a blind eye towards a much more pressing subject: the banning of maple bats around the league.
Up until about eight years ago, the norm for most major-league players was to use a bat made of ash wood. While these bats would still break, they wouldn't explode like maple bats.
The reason for the change of the status quo? Who else except for MLB's most controversial player, Barry Bonds.
Bonds started using maple bats and started putting up big numbers* (Hopefully somebody will appreciate that). Superstitious players around the league started using maple bats, hoping that their numbers would be boosted by a different bat.
The result is that bats are breaking much more often than they ever have, and it's a serious risk to the players, the coaches, and the fans.
People have been wondering what it'll take for the league to take steps to prevent injuries. Would someone have to get hurt in order for the MLB to take action against these bats?
Obviously, it's going to take more than that.
On April 15, Nate McClouth's bat shattered and a fragment of it sliced the side of Pittsburgh's hitting coach Don Long. That was only one of two so far this season.
Number two came just 10 days later when the Rockies were playing the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Todd Helton was using Tulowitzki's maple bat, and the barrel of the bat flew right into contact with the jaw of Susan Rhodes. The bat fractured her jaw in two places.
So, the MLB is currently discussing how they're going to fix this, right?
Wrong. They're too worried about what a home run is and what's not.
It's going to take a death to get this corrected, and unfortunately, that's very ignorant of the MLB. Something needs to be done about this. It shouldn't take the death of a player/fan/coach/umpire to fix something that has already produced two injuries.
So, what are possible solutions to this? There's about two options the league has. One, ban all maple bats and then there's not too much to worry about.
Players who have used maple bats for most of their career would be very upset over this solution, and would suggest another that would only protect the fans. Extend the net behind the plate so that way it covers practically the entire front row of baseball parks.
While this would certainly solve the risk of hurting fans, there's still the risk for players, umpires, and coaches.
The MLB NEEDS to ban maple bats if they hope to prevent serious injury as a result from broken bats.
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4 months ago
It has definitely gone crazy this year. I hope it doesn't take a another Mike Coolbaugh in order for MLB to fix this problem. That would be a shame. Especially if it was a fan.
from 4 months ago
And even after that, certain 3rd base coaches are still arguing wearing the helmets and staying in the coach's box! Even when a tragedy helps moves things along, the league isn't welcome to forced change.
4 months ago
Even Ash bats are breaking more these days. Much of this is due to the fact that wood, in general, is not as hard as it once was. The hardest wood comes from old trees. Since all of those are now gone, and supply wood comes from 30 year rotations, the quality of ALL wood is way down. In Michigan, if you can dredge up one of the old logs sitting on the bottom of lake superior, it's worth twenty thousands dollars a log. Obviously, that is now used in top end furniture not baseball bats. Don't know exactly what the answer is here. And yes, I'm aware of my repeated use of "hard" and "wood." Heh, Heh.
from 4 months ago
But ash breaks cleanly, yes it still breaks, all wood is capable of being broken. But maple explodes, making maple bats MUCH more dangerous than the ash.
from 4 months ago
I would also like to point out that maple bats are more likely to snap, while ash bats are more likely to crack. This was backed up by an MLB funded research project in 2005 I believe. Also, either bat does not have an intrinsic characteristics that makes it better than the other in terms of if the ball will travel farther or result in a better hit.
from 4 months ago
In 2005! Why does the league ignore this problem? It needs to be fixed!
from 4 months ago
Well, it is only been now that maple bats have become pretty common in the MLB. I believe the statistic was about 50% of players are using maple bats. At the time it wasn't a huge problem with exploding bats. However, during the 2006 collective bargaining negotiations the issue was brought up about at least making regulations about the production of maple bats (i.e. making the bats bigger at the handle as to try and reverse the bat from exploding so often). However, the negotiations failed and both sides left the table without anything being resolved.
Obviously it is a problem that needs to be addressed and if the union insists on keeping maple bats in the league, they'll need to agree to at least making the bats more durable. This is a problem that they can and need to head off ASAP.
from 4 months ago
Wood for baseball bats is just as good now as it was in the past. The breakage we see today is due to several factors: thinner handles to mimic aluminum, desire for very light bats and not using the bat properly. Thin 7/8" diameter handles are common. A 15/16" or 1"diameter would be a better,stronger choice. The larger diameter though adds weight. Light bats are made by selecting light bat wood billets. All wood is dried to take out unwanted moisture so that the wood can be worked and will remain stable and not crack or deform . Air drying or kiln drying will take wood to about 10% to12% moisture content for optimum bat MC% . The need for light bats by players requires wood to be dried to 4% to 6% MC. This low MC% makes the bat more brittle and will break sooner due to loss of elastic properties, think dry brown leaf vs. green supple leaf crushed in your hand. Also the lightest wood is chosen to make the lightest bats. Light weight in most natural materials means less strength, balsa vs. pine vs. rosewood. Silver vs. iron in metals. A 5 pound 4 ounce bat billet will make a 34", 32 ounce thin handle, big barrel bat. The 6 pound billet will make a 34",36 ounce bat of the same bat profile. 5 pound billets are very rare at 12%mc and much more common at 5% mc. At 5%mc You now have a weak ,dry and brittle but light 32 ounce bat at 34". MLB players twenty five years ago used 35 ounce bats . Today the standard is 32 ounces. Todays hitters are stronger and quicker at the plate. Most never check as to where they hit the ball on the bat. The ideal sweet spot on the bat is 1/6 down the bat from the barrel end and directly on the edge grain 90 degrees to the label. Most players hit at random and never factor in the label position . Random hitting contact on the barrel also increases breakage. There is more great wood today than at the time of the Civil War in the USA. Buy a quality USA made wood bat, not too light, not too big with straight grain. Use the bat of ash, birch or maple in the proper manner and it will last for many games.
4 months ago
Yep, it's a serious issue when people start getting hurt. I hope the powers that be do something about it fairly soon before someone else gets hurt in a very serious way.
I have to bring up the question though. What about bringing in the ping? I know the aluminum bats can make the ball more lethal, and it would probably inflate numbers, but sooner or later we are going to start using up so many trees(especially at the rate maple bats are breaking). That some environmentalist might say, hey stop wasting trees with your game, and use something that takes up less resources.
Every level up until pro-ball uses the aluminum, would that much of a radical change make a lot of people angry? Is it safer(no bat would hit anyone, but the ball could do some good damage) in terms of bats not hitting anyone?
An interesting aspect I guess.. Very good article Andy
from 4 months ago
Thanks Nino!
I understand your point on aluminum bats, but I think too many people would be against it. The league has been using wood bats for so long, I don't see them changing that, but certainly an interesting idea that may even be discussed when the MLB actually sees it's time to nix the maple
from 4 months ago
You're right about aluminum being more dangerous, Nino. It's already tough to defense yourself as a pitcher at amateur levels, so at the MLB level? That wouldn't be fair to pitchers, and somebody could get seriously hurt.
Andy, you're right, something has to be done. The most logical solution probably would be to grandfather everyone who currently uses maple bats but outlaw them for everybody else. Within a few years, nobody would be using maple bats anymore...
from 4 months ago
Yeah, JJ's right. We've already had two pitchers get hit in the face this year off of wood bats, could you imagine if that had been off of an aluminum bat?
Is there really a reason to be using the maple over the ash though? From what I understand, there isn't an advantage with using a maple bat... Would it be such an outrage to ban them completely?
from 4 months ago
Yeah.. I'm against the aluminum, I just wonder how long it will be before someone asks for it because of the environment.
from 4 months ago
All the players I've heard have just really said "I don't know why, I guess because you hit the ball harder." At least that's what most of the Indians say. I think you hit the nail on the head with Bonds. They saw him using it, and well they just jumped on it. It's become a fad.
4 months ago
JJ while your idea does seem like the most reasonable when considering precedent in various sports (hockey helmets, for example), if there is or if the players believe there is some advantage to using maple bats, wouldn't that be unfair for competitive balance?
It seems to me like you either have to ban maple bats completely or not ban them at all, or adopt some adequate protective measure... to some degree if it's the players and the coaches who are against the ban then a measure that protects all fans is a pretty good start, seeing as the fans are the ones who don't have a say in the matter yet are one of the primary parties at risk.
4 months ago
I wrote an article about this topic 6 days ago. You can also find specific cases on my site in regards to injuries, one Dale Long. I like the personal approach of this one.
from 4 months ago
Michael, sorry, I didn't look to see if that topic had been discussed... Glad you liked it though.
4 months ago
Bonds is such the trend setter. Roids. Maple Bats. One Earring in the left ear. What a good guy. Good article Andy.
4 months ago
Personnally I think that is as ridiculous a concern as can be.
Perhaps they should get a softer ball so player will have a less chance of get hurt if hit.
Or perhaps they should be required to throw the ball under 50 mph.
Maybe the pitcher should pitch from 80 feet and the bases should be 120.
4 months ago
i read an article that was posted on yahoo about the latest incident where a woman got hit with a piece, pretty much the entire barrel of a maple bat at dodger stadium causing 2 jaw fractures. she admittedly was NOT paying attention. it happens all the time, whether during BP or during the actual game, where someone isn't paying attention and gets hit with something and gets seriously injured. once at yankee stadium a woman 4 people down from me against the wall during BP got nailed in the face with a frozen rope, she was on her cell phone. bats breaking and foul balls are always going to happen, banning a certain type of wood wont stop the problem. maple or ash, bats will still break and the danger will always be there. not even taking in account hitters who can't hold on to their bat and wind up tossing itnto the stands. im all for safety but it usually starts with being attentive first.
4 months ago
I agree. They need to do this right after they ban hardballs and start playing with cotton balls.
4 months ago
The Braves' telecasters were discussing this a few weeks ago and one of them reported that Brian McCann had said that maple bats last longer than ash and that's why so many players use them. He said that a batch of maple bats would be usable a significant while longer than a batch of ash bats. But, I definitely think players can afford buying ash bats more often with the salaries they have today.
from 4 months ago
Well, if they were made thicker at the handle, maybe they would not break as easily... But they're breaking at an alarming rate.
4 months ago
Excellent article, Andy. I had been curious about this issue, and your piece states the case clearly. Nice job.
from 4 months ago
Thank you. I appreciate the feedback!
3 months ago
Okay, a ball almost hits somebody, and you imagine what would happen if a maple-bat shard hit them.
Well, what if the ball hit and severely injured them? What you are saying is born from hysteria. Bats "exploding". Sorry, that's hyperbole. I just read another article where shards shot like bullets from a gun? I guess they knew it was fast as a speeding bullet because it was invisible. Baseballs have injured a large number of people. They apparently aren't as easy to dodge as you're saying. Collisions at home plate have injured a lot of players; ditto for the fence and at 2nd base. Ash-bat shards have injured people. Are you going to ban all of that stuff? Baseball is a dangerous game.
from 3 months ago
Maple bats are much more dangerous than all the other things you've listed.
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