BASEBALL INSIDER: Breaking news: Epidemic of broken maple bats draws attention of MLB

By DAN HAYES - Staff Writer | Friday, August 1, 2008 7:58 PM PDT ∞

During his July 5 start in Phoenix, Jake Peavy was pitching so well, he was falling back into his old habit of breaking opponents' bats ---- one of which soared precariously close to him.

But even though the cracked shard of lumber came within 6 inches of striking Peavy, he paid it no attention.

"I've had some fly by my head, but it makes no difference," Peavy said. "It's not something I think or worry about."

The same can't be said for Major League Baseball, which has been forced to confront the danger of bats made of maple wood by a string of high-profile injuries caused by projectile shards of broken maple bats.

The first four months of this season have seen a fan, an umpire and a coach struck and injured by fragments of a broken bat. All of the bats were made of maple, which break less frequently but more destructively than the alternative, ash wood.

As the calls to either ban maple bats or modify the specification used in constructing them have grown louder, baseball officials have begun collecting every bat broken in a game so they can be studied by forestry agents.

"With the way some of these things are shattering now, it's kind of becoming dangerous," Padres outfielder Brian Giles said. "You're getting a lot of bats flying not only at our guys, but guys you're playing against. You don't want to see anybody have their career end because a bat shattered in their face."

Thus far, shattered bats haven't injured a player in a game situation, though Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki needed 16 stitches to close a cut on his hand when a maple bat he slammed to the ground in frustration shattered. Pirates hitting coach Don Long, Dodger Stadium patron Susan Rhodes and American League umpire Brian O'Nora all were struck by remnants of bats broken during an at-bat.

Long was seated in the visiting dugout at Dodger Stadium during an April game when a piece of a broken bat cut his cheek, causing permanent nerve damage, according to published reports. Ten days later, Rhodes' jaw was broken when the barrel of a destroyed bat flew into the stands at Dodger Stadium. And in June, O'Nora walked off the field bleeding after a splintered bat struck him in the head while he was umpiring home plate.

"It's like you buy a car and then you get out on the road and see (that car) everywhere," said MLB spokesperson Patrick Courtney, who estimates that 60 percent of major league players prefer maple bats over ash. "This year, everywhere you turn, it's happening."

The explanation is simple ---- sort of.

In the past few years, the majority of major leaguers have turned to maple bats because they deem them more durable than ash.

Adrian Gonzalez, one of two Padres to use both maple and ash, said he uses maple because he can use it over and over in games and batting practice without fear of the bat chipping. By contrast, Gonzalez said ash might not survive longer than three days' worth of use in games and batting practice.

In a survey of 12 Padres hitters, eight use maple bats, two prefer ash and two others use both.

The biggest and most daunting difference between maple and ash, however, is how the bats break. While ash bats tend to crack, according to a 2005 study conducted by MLB, maple bats tend to explode, sending large chunks in any direction.

Finding out why that happens ---- whether it's thin handles or wood rushed into production for players looking to switch bats ---- is the purpose of baseball's investigation. Padres CEO Sandy Alderson is among 16 members on baseball's safety committee studying the issue. He declined to comment for this story.

The committee last met in New York on June 24, and commissioner Bud Selig addressed the bat dilemma at last month's All-Star Game, though no timeline for a resolution has been set.

"It's a complicated issue," Courtney said. "We're in the midst of a process. They want to get it right, but they don't want to make changes in bits and pieces. ... (A timeline is) the trickiest part. We're working to get it done as soon as possible, but there's a lot to it.

"You don't want to rush to judgment, but I think they're on the right track."

 

Contact staff writer Dan Hayes at dhayes@nctimes.com.