FanNation

RaBDawG said 06/19, 02:48 PM
Yes they should be:

The MLB did a commissioned study in 2005 in regards to Maple bats vs Ash bats and found that there is no performance difference between the two style bats, however they did find that Ash bats commonly break into two pieces which if alert a player, or even fan could guard themselves against.
Ash bats on the other hand explode upon breaking sending pieces of wood everywhere and in most cases far into the stands striking multiple fans. Of course many times these fragments are not harmful as they are too small to cause any serious damage, but there have been numerous incidents of fans and players being seriously injured by the shrapnel from these exploding bats to raise eyebrows.
That should answer your question on how a Maple bat is more dangerous(much more) then a Ash bat, and if there is no performance difference then my question to you is, Why take the risk and keep these bats around?
It is not like Maple bats have been used since the dawn of baseball either, many people credit Joe Carter for introducing the league to Maple bats in the 1990's, so the tradition argument is out the window.

more to come.....

RaBDawG said 06/19, 04:31 PM
I never said you did argue tradition, I was covering it before it even came up:)

The motivations behind why MLB is considering this ban really shouldnt matter. I am sure the concern for being sued is up there on the list, but why would they be sued? Well because fans are getting hit by these bat fragments much more often then any one piece off of an Ash bat.

Scott Rolen recently acknowledged the danger fans face from these bats:
"Im not so much worried myself," Blue Jays third baseman Scott Rolen said. "I'm locked in and concentrated on every pitch and every swing. I can see the ball and the bat. But I don't want my family sitting near the field unless they are behind the [backstop] screen. The bats are a hazard for fans more so than players."

Will players being forced to use Ash bats have slumps, maybe, but lets be realistic, I think in this case the good really outweighs any minor "slumps" you think the change may cause. Take Johnny Damon for instance, after breaking a "small forest" of Maple bats over the years he recently switched to Ash and he says he has not noticed any real difference in his swing or his contact.

I will touch on the logging industry next

RaBDawG said 06/19, 05:42 PM
I appreciate your lack of time as I also have to be somewhere in about ten minutes, so in respect to your non argument I will forgo my last argument and sum up my stance.

Of course there is risk in everything you do in life. And the same goes for going to a baseball game. However, if there is an obvious threat in these Maple bats constantly breaking, and not breaking in a reasonably manageable and safe way such as the Ash bats do, then why throw caution to the wind when there is an easy solution in the form of just getting rid of the bats. Its not like all of these players have not at some point in time used an ash bat before. I was going to share the story of the most notable injury sustained by a fan due to one of these shards flying into the stands, instead I will post the link and if anyone wants to read about it then so be it.


http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-bats052908&prov=yhoo&type=lgns