Maple Bat Claims Another Victim

[Dojji]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100919&content_id=14847072&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

 

Gotta get them out of the sport. When it was a largely unrealized risk that's one thing, but now people are getting hurt. It can be avoided by taking maples out of the game. I don't care if they make a guy hit .400, if it's still baseball without maple bats (and it is) and people are getting hurt by them (and they are) then they need to go. It's a safety thing. Safety to play the game and (after the end of one maple ruined a poor woman's jaw a couple years ago) safety to enjoy the game at the park as well..

[jacksonianmarch]

I played with both ash and maple. I think the bigger concern is the way they are lathed down nowadays. The thin handles are just as much to blame as the maple IMO

[italstallianion]

I agree, but when you combine the disproportionately thin handles with the maple build and that exacerbates the problem exponentially. And I don't think that there's great data to suggest that maple bats are even better for hitting anyway. Don't some of the better hitters use ash bats anyway? I know that A-rod does.

[jacksonianmarch]

Maples are billed as having a denser and wider sweet spot, but there have been studies proving that the build of the bat makes no difference in the distance the ball is hit. There is definitely a different feel and sound coming off the bat. IMO, the maple has a better "sound" to it even when you get jammed a little. But I scrapped the maple and went to ash. Maple is a little lighter as well. But I felt like the ash just felt better in my hand.

[italstallianion]

I was a pitcher, so I never had to worry about that. (There were only metal bats around anyway)

[Yaz Sideburn]

Maples are billed as having a denser and wider sweet spot' date=' but there have been studies proving that the build of the bat makes no difference in the distance the ball is hit. There is definitely a different feel and sound coming off the bat. IMO, the maple has a better "sound" to it even when you get jammed a little. But I scrapped the maple and went to ash. Maple is a little lighter as well. But I felt like the ash just felt better in my hand.[/quote']

 

don't they use metal bats in little league?

[Keeper]

don't they use metal bats in little league?

 

Pretty sure Jacko played college ball. He must have used the wood in a summer league.

[Yaz Sideburn]

Pretty sure Jacko played college ball. He must have used the wood in a summer league.

 

i'm sure he'd love to tell us about his cape cod league exploits as long as we don't ask what year he was in the league

[Youk Of The Nation]

The Maple Bat, a very rare North American predator, stalks its prey before puncturing it and draining it's blood for sustenance. There have been no known fatalities attributed to the Maple Bat, however several serious injuries have been reported. Please visit stopthemaplebat.org for more information on how to help your community combat the Maple Bat. There you will find instructions on how to keep Maple Bats from nesting near your property, successful techniques for exterminating the Maple Bat, and a zoological essay on the Maple Bat by Dr. Gregory Shabalala, the nations leading expert on this small but dangerous predator.

[rician blast]

Pretty sure Jacko played college ball. He must have used the wood in a summer league.

 

heh, heh, heh....you said "wood"....heh, heh.

 

My kid plays fall baseball (16U) and they use aluminum/composites on Saturdays, wood bats on Sundays.

 

Even at this level we're seeing some potentially dangerous splintered bats, whether the bat is maple or ash. Part of the game, but I suppose some definitive research is needed to determine whether it really is the type of wood alone that is responsible for these mishaps or, as Jacko said, the lathing.