Wednesday, May 25, 2005Major league baseball players breaking more bats
Major league baseball players use bats made of ash or maple. Ray Glier and Mel Antonen tell us in USA Today
that ball players and managers think that they are breaking more bats
than ever. Suspicion centers on maple, with some players claiming that
maple bats fracture more easily than ash. Others place the blame on the
trend toward thinner handles. Maple bats also tend to fly across the
field when they break, while ash bats usually splinter but hold
together.
Until the 1990's, all major league bats were made from ash. Hillerich and Bradsby, the maker of the Louisville Slugger, dominates the bat industry. Joe Carter began using maple bats in the late 1990's. Today slightly less than half of MLB players use maple. Some players use both, reserving ash bats for cold weather.
European beech bats are also coming on the market, with a few players using beech Louisville Sluggers. The origin of the wood in these beech bats is a closely guarded secret. If successful, Hillerich and Bradsby will probably promote beech bats as an alternative to ash. Ash, unlike maple and beech, flakes in use, so maple or beech bats are potentially more durable.
Robert Adair, a Yale physicist and baseball fan, has examined data on bats at the request of Major League Baseball (MLB), and concluded that there is little difference in the capabilities of maple or ash bats. Players who grow up on aluminum bats, allowed in amateur and school ball but not in MLB, like the weight of thin-throated wood bats. They apparently feel more like aluminum bats. The increase in bat breakage could be a result of the trend toward thinner throats.
Supply is an interesting issue. With Emerald ash borer threatening ash resources, a shift to maple and beech may be inevitable. Louisville Sluggers are made from ash wood only from upstate New York, which does not yet have a problem with Emerald ash borer. The spread of Emerald ash borer to New York could eliminate ash as a resource for bats. The switch to maple or beech may be accelerated by threats to the ash resource.
Until the 1990's, all major league bats were made from ash. Hillerich and Bradsby, the maker of the Louisville Slugger, dominates the bat industry. Joe Carter began using maple bats in the late 1990's. Today slightly less than half of MLB players use maple. Some players use both, reserving ash bats for cold weather.
European beech bats are also coming on the market, with a few players using beech Louisville Sluggers. The origin of the wood in these beech bats is a closely guarded secret. If successful, Hillerich and Bradsby will probably promote beech bats as an alternative to ash. Ash, unlike maple and beech, flakes in use, so maple or beech bats are potentially more durable.
Robert Adair, a Yale physicist and baseball fan, has examined data on bats at the request of Major League Baseball (MLB), and concluded that there is little difference in the capabilities of maple or ash bats. Players who grow up on aluminum bats, allowed in amateur and school ball but not in MLB, like the weight of thin-throated wood bats. They apparently feel more like aluminum bats. The increase in bat breakage could be a result of the trend toward thinner throats.
Supply is an interesting issue. With Emerald ash borer threatening ash resources, a shift to maple and beech may be inevitable. Louisville Sluggers are made from ash wood only from upstate New York, which does not yet have a problem with Emerald ash borer. The spread of Emerald ash borer to New York could eliminate ash as a resource for bats. The switch to maple or beech may be accelerated by threats to the ash resource.
