The Maple Bat Controversy

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

Now, if you are a fan of baseball, you know that players are forced to use wooden bats. They can use wood spanning from Oak to Ash, and even to Maple. However, after what has transpired this past week, I believe that Maple Bats should be outlawed in the MLB. Here's why...

A few days ago during the Chicago Cubs game, Cubs player Tyler Colvin was hit by a shattered maple bat. It hit him in the chest, and it punctured his lung. He is still in the hospital in stable condition. While he is expected to be alright, he is out for the remainder of the season. I apologize for lack of video footage here, there is none to be found, and rightfully so.

However, thats not all...

A few days ago in the Texas Rangers game, Rangers pitcher Cliff Lee was struck by remnants of a bat. What kind of bat? A maple bat. The remnants of this bat gave him a splinter in his ear which bled. Luckily for Lee, he avoided serious injury.

So, what are your thoughts on this? Should Major League Baseball outlaw the use of Maple Bats? Or do you think that this is just a coincidence? Like I said, I personally feel that the usage of these bats should be outlawed for player safety.

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

It really has nothing to do with the Maple bats and has everything to do with the weight of the bat and the grain of the wood.

Maple is currently the bat of choice, because it's the better kind of wood. Oak and Ash bats still shatter at the same rate and pace as Maple bats. You hear so much about Maple bats because it's the most used bat in the game right now, meaning that if it's the most used it's going to have the most broken bats.

Maple is of a higher quality than Oak and Ash, this issue has much more to do with the fact that players have been using lighter bats, three to four ounces lighter on average than bats used just ten years ago. It's simply the evolution of the game, but of course there always has to be a scape goat, and that scape goat is the Maple bat.

MLB is working hand in hand do deal with this issue, and all the research that has been done has shown that the maple bats are not the problem. It's all about bat weight and the cut of the wood. Broken bats are down this year, and bats are lighter than ever which proves that a better quality bat, despite the kind of wood you use is less likely to shatter.

Maple is not the problem here.

 

[Big Sexy]

Obviously what has happened recently to both Colvin and Cliff Lee was scary but you can't overreact to this. It has been reported that about 70% of players use maple bats at least some of the time and that most power hitters use them. Maple is seen as the best wood for bats and baseball is already doing a lot to improve the quality of the bats and make sure they don't break as often.

From 2008 to 2009 the amount of broken maple bats dropped 50% which is a very significant number. It also makes no sense to just outlaw maple bats because other wood bats can break as well. The second most used wood for bats is ash and while ash normally just cracks instead of snaps, it isn't impossible for other types of bats to break like this. Broken bats are just part of the sport. Yes it is dangerous but so is a player hitting a line drive right back at the pitcher. Baseball as a whole has a lot of dangers but they do a great job trying to minimize them.

One final thing that makes getting rid of maple bats almost impossible is that it would have to be approved by the players union and the players are not going to allow it to happen. The players want to use maple bats and a couple incidents like what happened recently isn't going to change their minds.