MLB broken bats

[Roger Feeley]

I've been watching the World Series and I've seen quite a few broken bats. It looks to me like the grain isn't straight. But in reading up on broken bats, Loiseville Slugger takes pride in straight grain. Wouldn't it be better to rive the wood when you make the billets?

Anybody out there make bats? do you rive the wood?

[Lee Schierer]

My understanding of the problem is that the trees available now for making bats have grown quickly and have large annual growth rings as compared to trees that were use 20 years or more ago. The less dense wood coupled with modern bat designs where most of the weight is in the barrel leaves the handles thin, which leads to more breakage. Find a bat that is more than 20 years old and count the annual rings and compare that number to a modern bat of the same diameter and you will see a significant difference.

[Larry Frank]

Today half of the bats are from northern white ash and half from maple according to Louisville Sluggers. Also, bats today have a larger barrel and thinner handle.

[Stan Calow]

could be they hundred-mile an hour fastballs they are throwing these days.

[Jerome Stanek]

could be they hundred-mile an hour fastballs they are throwing these days.

Bob Feller could

[Roger Feeley]

This seems to answer part of my question.

http://www.bearvalleybats.com/

These folks definitely have a point of view about what woods should be used and maple isn't it. They claim to make better bats than Louiseville Slugger makes for the pros. They like hickory and ash. They claim that the frequent broken bats are usually maple.

[Jim Koepke]

Today half of the bats are from northern white ash and half from maple according to Louisville Sluggers.

These folks definitely have a point of view about what woods should be used and maple isn't it.

Many sources have said maple is the culprit in the broken bat increase. Maple is a more shattery wood than ash. The ash borer beetle has pretty much ended the source of a good wood.

jtk

[Yonak Hawkins]

Maple is a more shattery wood than ash.

jtk

Indeed, maple bats are more dangerous than ash bats because, when they break, they often tend to "explode" and let loose sharp shards whereas the ash bats usually crack and remain in one piece. When the ash bats do break in two pieces it's usually at the handle where it just breaks off or the bat will split long-wise along the grain. It's the unpredictable grain of maple that makes it dangerous.

[Shawn Pixley]

If I remember correctly, maple bats were popularized by Barry Bonds. Before that, most bats were ash.

[Harold Burrell]

maple bats were popularized by Barry Bonds...

And he wonders why he can't get into the Hall.

[Rich Riddle]

A few bats made of ironwood would stand up to the fast pitches.

[Shawn Pixley]

Maybe a bit heavy. The sweet spot is finding the right length to weight ratio with proper resiliancy. College bats are aluminum. There is a ratio of weight to length that the must conform (if I rember correctly within 4 of ounces to length in inches). You can buy bats at better ratios and the hit much farther.

The best bats are as heavy as you can get your maximum speed on your swing with as much length as possible. More weight = slower bat speed = less distance and less able to get around on the fastball.