Story on Danger from Maple Bats

[RPatrino]

I had a player ask me, " are wooden bats even legal?". I about died laughing!!

Hey Bren, good one!!!

[SAump]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns

Apology for the terrible pun.

Just noticed link in post 13 replaced original link above.
Anyone remember the name of the umpire struck by a broken maple bat on May 24 or 25, 2008?

[jkumpire]

You're forgiven, but it was very difficult......

[SAump]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

[Steve M]

I agree with Ozzy - the handles are too damn thin - and I can't add enough exclamation points. Having handled enough of today's bats, I don't think I'd want to be swinging one - the handles are too damn thin. I had the hands of stone as a fielder - and showed that by being a disaster in the field. But I could hit. And a couple of the biggest thrills I had as a player were jacking the ball a couple of times in a major league park - before the fences were moved in. Today's wooden bats are not the same as they were 30+ years ago. I used a 34inch, 36 ounce bat - how many of today's players would use a plus-2?

[justanotherblue]

It's truly unfortunate that the owners and MLB won't extend the safety nets down the foul lines farther. I mean really, MLB only made six billion last year, how could those poor owners as well as MLB afford to extend the safety netting for the fans to prevent a bat flying into the stands. Just because they do it in Japan, doesn't mean it will work here right?!

[briancurtin]

Originally Posted by justanotherblue

It's truly unfortunate that the owners and MLB won't extend the safety nets down the foul lines farther. I mean really, MLB only made six billion last year, how could those poor owners as well as MLB afford to extend the safety netting for the fans to prevent a bat flying into the stands. Just because they do it in Japan, doesn't mean it will work here right?!

Fans don't want any nets at all. They want every bat, ball, and drop of sweat that's coming their way. When you can make $X right now with a packed house, or lessen the fan experience and make $X-1 with a bit lower turnout, I think you'll choose $X. It's a greater number than $X-1, isn't it?

Note that I haven't touched on fan safety but fan experience instead. Fan safety is probably on the owners' lists -- somewhere above hot dog prices but below All Star game bids, and certainly below getting people to keep buying tickets.