PDA

View Full Version : Royals Should MLB Ban Maple Bats?


petegz28
06-25-2008, 11:55 AM
After seeing the Ump take a broken bat upside the head last night I think I am convinced it is time to ban maple bats. If something as freaky as a bat breaking and nailing the PLATE Umpire in the head and drawing blood can happen then it is a matter of time before a jagged edge ****s someone up good.

Thoughts? :hmmm:

BIG_DADDY
06-25-2008, 11:59 AM
Bats break all the time.

bkkcoh
06-25-2008, 12:02 PM
Go to aluminum like college does, those don't break or splinter....

:cuss:

petegz28
06-25-2008, 12:02 PM
Bats break all the time.

Ash bats do not break nearly as much as maple bats. Listen to Splitorff or White sometime. That is all they used, ash bats. They crack more than break.

penguinz
06-25-2008, 12:05 PM
no

Slayer Diablo
06-25-2008, 12:13 PM
And destroy a part of the tradition? Nah...besides, one could make the argument that it lessens the temptation for corking.

StcChief
06-25-2008, 12:16 PM
No just remind fans of potential for balls/bats leaving the field of play.

BIG_DADDY
06-25-2008, 12:19 PM
Ash bats do not break nearly as much as maple bats. Listen to Splitorff or White sometime. That is all they used, ash bats. They crack more than break.

If they want to use maple let them. Maybe we will reconsider if the Umps can agree on one strikezone.

little jacob
06-25-2008, 12:20 PM
oh good lord

mikeyis4dcats.
06-25-2008, 12:26 PM
I think we should outlaw steps too, becasue I almost tripped on one at lunch.

Stinger
06-25-2008, 12:30 PM
Replace them with Balsa wood

alanm
06-25-2008, 12:32 PM
Bats break all the time.
Yeah, But I notice that there seems to be a lot more broken bats these days than there ever seemed to be in the past. Maybe it's the company they have the contract with. :hmmm:

petegz28
06-25-2008, 12:36 PM
all right, all right, I can see i am in the minority here. I see nothing wrong with banning the the maple bats but oh well.

mikeyis4dcats.
06-25-2008, 12:40 PM
Frankly I don't understand why the NCAA doesn'tmban aluminum bats

PastorMikH
06-25-2008, 12:59 PM
Why don't they just ban umpires?

tomahawk kid
06-25-2008, 01:06 PM
Everybody is talking about the bats breaking, but what about the gear the umps wear?

If that ump was wearing a full "hockey style" face protector (similiar to what John Buck wears), he probably doesn't get that nasty gash.

Carlota69
06-25-2008, 01:11 PM
Yeah, But I notice that there seems to be a lot more broken bats these days than there ever seemed to be in the past. Maybe it's the company they have the contract with. :hmmm:

I thought the same thing. I started noticing more broken bats after the Tsunami. I thought because of all the wood that had to go over there, that the bat companies were getting skimpy. I'm wrong apprently, but it is happening more these days than it ever did before.

bkkcoh
06-25-2008, 01:14 PM
Yeah, But I notice that there seems to be a lot more broken bats these days than there ever seemed to be in the past. Maybe it's the company they have the contract with. :hmmm:

I heard an explanation of this. The handles are narrower so the bulk of the bat is in the barrel. The makes the handle a lot more likely to break then it used to.

BigMeatballDave
06-25-2008, 01:38 PM
Maple? I thought they were all Ash?

noa
06-25-2008, 01:41 PM
Maple? I thought they were all Ash?

Maple has been used for a while, too. A majority of players use maple, but some stick with ash.

J Diddy
06-25-2008, 01:46 PM
I think if we ban the balls it would be alot safer. No broken bats, no fans getting hit by foul ones, no line drives, getting rid of the balls is the way to go.

CrazyPhuD
06-25-2008, 01:52 PM
They need to make bats out of Flubber

MIAdragon
06-25-2008, 01:55 PM
Frankly I don't understand why the NCAA doesn'tmban aluminum bats


Cost.

petegz28
06-25-2008, 02:06 PM
Maple bats are lighter but according to Lefebvre (spelling) Maple is harder than Ash and therefore shatters and breaks easier. Ash being softer obviously cracks as opposed to breaks since it absorbs more of the impact. I know Reggie and Georgy and and a lot of other guys did just fine with Ash bats.

Simply Red
06-25-2008, 03:44 PM
yes.

BIG_DADDY
06-25-2008, 04:26 PM
Why don't they just ban umpires?

NICE!!!

Valiant
06-25-2008, 04:35 PM
Frankly I don't understand why the NCAA doesn'tmban aluminum bats

Because statistically the same amount have people have died or injured from wooden bats as aluminum ones..

Hell in KC they just posted an article about the Pittbull ban from 2006.. Some 1600+ have been put to sleep with another 2500+ still in shelters from people who were forced to get rid of them.. Bitings did not go down.. The bitings have stayed steady, even though all these evil and vicious dogs are off the street not attacking people..

It is a false since of security by banning them and thinking you are making the sport safer..

Extra Point
06-25-2008, 04:47 PM
Ash is the material used initially, and should be used for baseball and softball. Converting back to ash bats would kill a cottage industry, though.

OnTheWarpath15
06-25-2008, 04:56 PM
I heard an explanation of this. The handles are narrower so the bulk of the bat is in the barrel. The makes the handle a lot more likely to break then it used to.

This is exactly the issue, not the type of wood that is used.

The handles have been shaved down thinner and thinner over the years - it generates more speed in the swing - the head of the bat carries the majority of the weight and comes through the plate much faster than bats with thicker handles.

Thinner handles + more bat speed = more HR's and more broken bats.

Ultra Peanut
06-26-2008, 06:41 AM
Lance Berkman is a poet:

Berkman said ash bats are "less treacherous, all the way around," adding that when a maple bat breaks, it's a much more violent act than that of an ash bat, which has more of a flaky feel when it meets its demise.

"A maple bat can have a crack in it that you don't know about, and all of a sudden, you hit a ball on the barrel and it explodes," he said. "An ash bat is true. You can always tell if there's something wrong with it."

Berkman uses maple bats for batting practice, but switches to ash, which don't have as long of a shelf life, for games.

"I just prefer the ash," he said. "It bends a little more than maple. I like the feel of the ball coming off the bat. When a maple bat dies, it's a spectacular occurrence, whereas ash bats slip gently into the good night."

FELT
06-26-2008, 08:53 AM
This is exactly the issue, not the type of wood that is used.

The handles have been shaved down thinner and thinner over the years - it generates more speed in the swing - the head of the bat carries the majority of the weight and comes through the plate much faster than bats with thicker handles.

Thinner handles + more bat speed = more HR's and more broken bats.

Exactly, most of the broken bats occur in the handle area. I think that before thinking about banning maple, they need to make it where players cannot significantly doctor bats from the initial manufactured state.

chasedude
06-26-2008, 10:15 AM
Make em out of Hickory, they'll never break.

mikeyis4dcats.
06-26-2008, 10:41 AM
Exactly, most of the broken bats occur in the handle area. I think that before thinking about banning maple, they need to make it where players cannot significantly doctor bats from the initial manufactured state.

I would imagine that is already a rule....

mikeyis4dcats.
06-26-2008, 10:43 AM
Because statistically the same amount have people have died or injured from wooden bats as aluminum ones..

Hell in KC they just posted an article about the Pittbull ban from 2006.. Some 1600+ have been put to sleep with another 2500+ still in shelters from people who were forced to get rid of them.. Bitings did not go down.. The bitings have stayed steady, even though all these evil and vicious dogs are off the street not attacking people..

It is a false since of security by banning them and thinking you are making the sport safer..

I don't think it should be done completely for safety, I just think baseball should be played with a wood bat, and I would think it would be a better transition to MLB for players.

FELT
06-26-2008, 10:45 AM
I would imagine that is already a rule....

Actually it isn't. There was a discussion about it on a local talk show yesterday. Sand paper to the handle to lighten it up.

Calcountry
06-26-2008, 10:46 AM
And destroy a part of the tradition? Nah...besides, one could make the argument that it lessens the temptation for corking.
Wow, where the heck have you been. You might even have facial hair by now, lmao.

Hog Rider
06-26-2008, 10:59 AM
I think if we ban the balls it would be alot safer. No broken bats, no fans getting hit by foul ones, no line drives, getting rid of the balls is the way to go.

Water balloons - if you break the balloon, it's an automatic out.

Amnorix
06-26-2008, 11:04 AM
There was an article somewhere (ESPN?) about this. Apparentyl, nobody really used maple bats until Joe Carter or someone in the 90s. Now it's nearly 40% or so of baseball player.s

Problem is that they are very prone to breaking and having pieces flying everywhere, threatening players and fans. It's only a matter of time before a jagged hunk o' bat goes into the stands, and someone gets hurt.

And when they sue, they'll be bring into court things like the ESPN article. I'd hate to be the defnese lawyer dealing with "ESPN **WROTE** a full article about how dangerous these were, and you STILL let players use them. Everyone knows the risks of the BALL going into the stands, but that's unavoidable. Pieces of a bat, however, is avoided just by using the SAME WOOD BASEBALL HAS USED FOR THE LAST 100 YEARS, until the last 10 of course...."

Ouch.

mikeyis4dcats.
06-26-2008, 11:09 AM
There was an article somewhere (ESPN?) about this. Apparentyl, nobody really used maple bats until Joe Carter or someone in the 90s. Now it's nearly 40% or so of baseball player.s

Problem is that they are very prone to breaking and having pieces flying everywhere, threatening players and fans. It's only a matter of time before a jagged hunk o' bat goes into the stands, and someone gets hurt.

And when they sue, they'll be bring into court things like the ESPN article. I'd hate to be the defnese lawyer dealing with "ESPN **WROTE** a full article about how dangerous these were, and you STILL let players use them. Everyone knows the risks of the BALL going into the stands, but that's unavoidable. Pieces of a bat, however, is avoided just by using the SAME WOOD BASEBALL HAS USED FOR THE LAST 100 YEARS, until the last 10 of course...."

Ouch.


It'd never happen. Fans assume the risk by attending, just like hockey pucks at hockey games. You are informed of the risk, and you chose to attend.