Chicago Cubs baseball player, Tyler Colvin, impaled by a broken bat.

[Better Believe It]

Does Someone Have To Be Killed Before MLB Does Something About Shattered Bats?
MLB keeps talking about "doing something" about shattering maple bats. There was another injury on Sunday. When, MLB? When someone gets killed?
By Al Yellon - Managing Editor
September 19, 2010

The photo accompanying this post is of the bat of the Cubs' Welington Castillo shattering in the second inning of today's Cubs game at Miami. A piece of it hit Tyler Colvin in the chest, causing a fairly deep wound only inches from his heart. According to Paul Sullivan in the Tribune, Colvin is going to be OK:

There was no immediate word on the depth of the wound, though it was only a few inches from his heart and could've been much more serious. In the photo accompanying this, the sharp end of the larger piece of Castillo's broken bat is what went into Colvin's chest.

The Cubs said there was minimal external bleeding. Colvin may remain in the hospital overnight for tests, and there's a possibility he will be shut down for the season, though it's too soon for any decision.

"Only a few inches from his heart." Seriously, do we need to see a ballplayer bleed to death on the field of play from a shattered bat before MLB does something about this dangerous piece of lumber? Two years ago, Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach Don Long was seriously injured by a shattered bat from then-Pirates outfielder Nate McLouth.

MLB needs to do something about this issue before someone gets killed. There has to be a wood out there that has the properties hitters want, and the durability that will prevent these kinds of injuries.

Now, please. Before it's too late.



VIDEO OF INCIDENT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZNbeyrYT_U&feature=player_embedded

http://chicago.sbnation.com/2010/9/19/1698055/cubs-tyler-colvin-shattered-bat-maple-bats

[hlthe2b]

1. why is this just a problem now? Haven't bats always been maple?

Seriously... what has changed over the past 80 years or so (besides steroid-strengthened swings)?

[Paulie]

3. Faster pitches, stronger faster batters

An aluminum bat would solve issue. And make the game quite entertaining. :-)

[Greyhound]

7. If you like baseball games with a dozen or more HR's every game. n/t

[Paulie]

14. Absolutely that, let runs look like a football game, pitchers duels are boring

N/t

[KamaAina]

9. And maple bats

the classic Louisville Slugger is made from ash. A few years ago, some hitters decided they could get a (very slight) edge by switching to maple. Result: A rash of horrific broken-bat injuries, mostly in the stands -- until now.

[hlthe2b]

12. Ahh, that makes sense... and yes, now I do remember ash....

being the original wood, which is much harder. Thanks for clarifying.

[hlthe2b]

10. Aluminum bats are supposedly outlawed for little league because

they are considered dangerous and have been several lawsuits. Why would it be safer for the Big Leagues?

[xultar]

17. 'ROIDS!

[madinmaryland]

36. Nice post, Barry Bonds! Or is that Mark McGwire.

:shrug:

[TheMightyFavog]

48. Aluminum bats are an abomination unto the gods.

They should be banned at ALL levels. REAL baseball bats are made of wood. Ash, to be more specific.

[JVS]

52. and dangerous

http://southorange.patch.com/articles/wood-vs-aluminum-bats-an-issue-of-safety-2

[Better Believe It]

6. No. Here's the history of maple bats

Until 2001, nearly all wood baseball bats were made from the same northern white ash that bats had been made from for over 100 years. That year, however, brought Barry Bonds, his incredible 73 home runs and an extremely quick change in the wood bat market. Bonds' record breaking season brought attention to the fact that he was using unique maple baseball bats - made by Sam Bat of Ottawa, ON. In no time at all, the maple bat craze had begun.

[3waygeek]

8. As far as I know, no MLB bats are maple...

they're 100% ash.

[Better Believe It]

19. That was true until 2001.

[JackintheGreen]

29. You are incorrect

A great many bats in MLB are maple. Barry Bonds hit his 73 HR using maple bats. Players who are in no way comparable to Bonds were quick to switch from ash to maple. And there is no rule in MLB that forbids them.

According to folks like Bob Brenly, a contributing factor is that players are allowed to "shave" the barrel of the bat to lighten them, reputed to quicked their swing. This weaken the integrity of the bat and makes breaks more like.ly

[theothersnippywshrub]

21. Bats used to be made of ash, but I don't know whether that matters.

Today's players like lighter bats with thinner handles. Both of those factors increase the likelihood of the bat breaking.

[rateyes]

31. No. Louisville Sluggers are made of Ash.

[Spider Jerusalem]

32. Nope, they used to be hickory, then ash.

Most are still ash; the reason for the change was that hickory is much heavier (the average bat weight now is around 32 ounces; for comparison Babe Ruth used a 44-ounce hickory bat).

[kestrel91316]

37. I thought they were traditionally made from ash, and the switch to another wood

(maple?) is what has led to the shattering.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

41. No. Bats used to be made from

ash or oak, I believe. Maple is a fairly new entry into the game.

[rurallib]

44. I should read first then post

I shall punish myself.

[Erose999]

58. I am pretty sure bats are traditionally made from Ash. Ash is stout wood and usually doesn't shatter

like what we have been seeing lately. As I understand it Maple is more brittle and breaks in a more jagged fashion than does Ash.

Laminates may be the future of bats. You can do amazing things with plywood.

[seabeyond]

2. what is the suggested solution to this problem? curious. nt

[Better Believe It]

13. It's really very simple. Ban maple bats. But, that probably won't happen until

either a player or spectator is killed on camera.

Maple bats break easily and differently than normal bats. They "explode" into splinters with sharp ends.

[seabeyond]

15. well, there you go bbi. i don't know anything about it. but this sounds obvious. nt

[Better Believe It]

4. Colvin being treated with a chest tube. Out for season. Will remain in hospital for a few days.

Colvin remains stable but will be kept at Miami hospital for next few days. He’s done for season. #Cubs
less than a minute ago via web
Patrick Mooney
CSNMooney

Colvin’s being treated with a chest tube to make sure his lung doesn’t collapse. He hasn’t labored to breathe.
less than a minute ago via web
Patrick Mooney

[Vickers]

5. Two incidents in two years?

:shrug:

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

11. Aluminum bats are more dangerous for the pitcher

Sorry, wood is safer

[Better Believe It]

16. Traditional ash wood bats used for over 100 years are safer than maple wood bats or aluminum bats.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

20. Okay... if it's about kinds of wood I agree with you

If there's a better wood alternative I have no problem with it

[Better Believe It]

22. It's the old fashioned ash wood alternative that was used for over 100 years without a problem!

That's what it's all about.

[Nye Bevan]

18. Let's not get too nannyish over this.

After all, *no* MLB player has ever been killed by a broken bat. All pro sports involve risk, and the players are big boys. You could just as well argue that they should play with tennis balls to reduce HBP injuries. Or that large soft pillows be attached to each base to minimize sliding injuries.

[hlthe2b]

24. well aren't you just the pragmatist....?

Damn.. All they apparently have to do is go back to Ash bats that did not have this problem. Why would you not want to prevent a player (or bystander) death? This isn't routine risk.

[Nye Bevan]

51. How about extending the screen to the entire outfield?

We could eliminate the risk of fans ever being hit by foul balls! Why not?

[hlthe2b]

55. What is your problem?

:eyes:

[Better Believe It]

28. These maple bats have nearly impaled spectators when they've shattered.

So it's not just the players that should be protected..

But players use helmets today (to reduce the impact of 100 mph hardballs hitting their craniums) and other protective equipment which has cut down on unnessary injuries.

What's wrong with that?

Now if you really want to end "nanny sports" remove all of that protective equipment they use in the NFL and college football!

Play with the equipment they use in Australian Rules Football!

I think they are allowed to wear a jock strap but not much beyond that!

[AnArmyVeteran]

23. Screw 'purity of the sport' & switch to aluminum bats.

The so called "purity of the sport" is a complete joke anyway. Home run records were shattered for several years in a row by a lot of cheating frauds like Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa who filled their bodies full of illegal performance enhancing drugs. No asterisks were added to their fake records. And the pitcher who was denied a perfect game this past season was prevented from going into the history books by Bud Selig, who also cited "purity of the sport" as the reason for deliberately screwing a masterful job by a great pitcher.

Good god, let's stop this charade. It's a damned game where grown men play with little balls and a stick to hit the balls. There's no such thing as "purity of the sport" when team owners can fleece entire cities by getting them to pay for their billion dollar stadiums and then rip off all the profits, leaving the taxpayers with the huge bills, as long as wife beaters and drug addicts can play or when fans are searched when they enter stadiums to make sure they don't sneak in a tic tac or a thimblefull of water, because then the billionaire team owners can't shake down people with rot gut food and stale, overpriced beer.

"Purity of the sport" my ass. Hey Bud, how about taking that fractured bat and sticking it up your corrupt ass. That would be a start to making the game 'pure'.

[hlthe2b]

25. Since aluminum are considered too dangerous for little league

I can only imagine the damage they would do for the Big Leagues. Seems the obvious answer is to go back to ash.

[Better Believe It]

33. Funny. Did anyone read a post about the "purity of the sport"?

I take it you don't know how to play baseball or favor chess.

So do you have an opinion on using or banning maple baseball bats?

In case you didn't notice, that's what this string is all about trooper!

UUU RAH! .... or whatever it is that Marines and other dudes shout.

:)

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

34. Because aluminum bats never break the hitters learn to

"pull" inside pitches (or pitches where the hitter is a little late) off the narrower part of the bat (which just shatters a wood bat). The concern is that major league hitters would be routinely firing balls back up the middle at unusual speeds, endangering the pitchers. (The pitcher is totally exposed at the end of his delivery.)

It seems plausible to me.

But safer wood is cool.

[Vinnie From Indy]

26. Personally, I think that MLB should include wild tigers in the game

They could be on chains affixed to poles in the outfield similar to the way they were used in the movie "Gladiators".

[DJ13]

27. Heres a photo, check out who took it

?ymD0_yDDpBKyXTsU

[hlthe2b]

30. Keith!

Damn, he must have good seats...

[ProdigalJunkMail]

38. it's a screen cap... n/t

[hlthe2b]

39. Oh... of course...

[ProdigalJunkMail]

40. just a comment on the seats...

i wish i had such good seats...

sP

[Drale]

35. The bats used to be made of ash

but that was a scary situation, it didn't set in right away because Wellington Castillo hit a run scoring double but when I saw the replay of him being hit, I was immediately worried. On the other hand it could have been alot worst, a couple of inches up or to the right and it could have done some real damage.

[TheCowsCameHome]

42. Wailt until someone dies.

Then start thinking about appointing a commission, then study it for ten years....etc, etc.

[Better Believe It]

43. Here's more video on the incident.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zonr0gOocok&feature=player_embedded

[rurallib]

45. I seem to recall that a graphite composite was proffered

as an alternative to wood and aluminum. Believe they are used at some amateur levels. Because they won't break it saves high schools etc without the rebound power of aluminum.
But the "purity of the sport" has kept MLB from even giving it a glance.
the rebound on the composite is supposed to be similar to wood. And I hear they last forever.

[Better Believe It]

46. Maybe they could be used in school but stick with ash wood on the professional level.

[sylveste]

59. nowhere near forever

most slow pitch softball as well as many youth league baseball bats are made of composites and you're lucky if they last a year,i've gone through plenty at several hundred dollars a pop. they're especially prone to breaking in cold temps. they are also even hotter than aluminum bats performance wise. seems the best solution would be to ban maple bats but i'm not even sure thats really needed.

[Better Believe It]

47. Latest on Colvin's condition

Tylermania! Impaled But Okay; Out For The Season


MIAMI -- Tyler Colvin is in stable condition at a local hospital after being impaled in his upper left chest by a piece of broken bat during Sunday's game at Sun Life Stadium.

Colvin was scoring from third on Welington Castillo's RBI double when a piece of bat hit him in his chest. He was transported to the Ryder Trauma Unit of Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where X-rays were taken and the wound was being sutured.

He's being treated for pneumothorax, a puncture of the chest cavity, which allowed air into the chest wall and the potential of a collapsed lung. A tube was inserted into the wound, and Colvin is resting comfortably, but will remain hospitalized for 2-3 days for further examination, and manager Mike Quade said he will not play again this season.

Colvin was not in labored breathing, and there was very little blood. There was no immediate word on the depth of the wound, though it was only a few inches from his heart, and his neck, and could've been much more serious. The sharp end of the larger piece of Castillo's broken bat is what went into Colvin's chest, but it did not stick into the chest.

Marlins catcher Mike Rivera said it was scary and looked like "he was being stabbed."


http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/league-of-her-own/2010/09/tylermania-impaled-but-okay-out-for-the-season.html

[AsahinaKimi]

49. Could you imagine how much the game would

Change if they used a metal bat? OMG..people would be killed!

[Mudoria]

50. I wouldn't want to be playing 3rd base with Pujols at the plate with a metal bat...

[RandomThoughts]

53. For the last month or so, I been thinking about the sound of baseball.

The sound when a bat hits a baseball. That crisp sound, with a real good feeling. You know that sound.

Like watching a batter hitting balls in batting practice.

Been thinking about that for awhile.

I think it is from this scene.

The Natural Batting practice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZR_FYKPAAQ


:shrug:

I like the sound of a wood bat better then metal.

[Ishoutandscream2]

57. Exactly. No sound is prettier than the wood hitting the ball

Love the sound. Watching college ball and lower turns me off because of the "ding" sound of the aluminum bat.

[Bonobo]

54. What about the dangers of soap? It's so slippery!

Or the dangers of forks (so pointy!)

Etc.

Yawn.

[Better Believe It]

60. Don't put soap on your baseball glove or try to hit a baseball with a fork!

Either would be dangerous and stupid!

Have you ever played baseball?

[Bonobo]

61. Yes I have.

My point is that the accidents are so rare given the number of times a ball contacts a bat that it is silly to make such a big deal over it.
Ban wooden bats because one hit in a million leads to an injury?
It's as silly as banning forks because sometimes people stab their mouths.

[Better Believe It]

64. "Ban wooden bats because one hit in a million leads to an injury?" You need to read the posts.

It's not about banning all wooden bats.

It's about banning only the maple wood bats when tend to "explode" sending spinters toward players and fans. That problem doesn't exist with the traditional ash wood bats.

[me b zola]

56. This also happened to Steve Yeager in 1976. Almost killed him.

http://thegloryofbaseball.blogspot.com/2007/10/steve-yeager-lucky-to-be-alive.html

[tuckessee]

62. Back in the old days bats lasted forever.

A player might go through 2 or 3 bats a year and they were usually replaced because they were worn out and beat up, not cracked or broken.

Some players used the same bat day in and day out for years.

[exboyfil]

63. Montage of broken bats

http://www.wezen-ball.com/2010-articles/september/tyler-colvin-a-a-montage-of-broken-bats.html

One of the worst things I saw as a kid was Steve Yeager getting hit by a broken bat.

One suggestion to make sure the batters walk up with bats that won't break - call them out if their bat breaks. They will suddenly be on the look out for bats which don't break.

I think a composite bat would be the best solution. With modern technology it should be figured out how to tweak a bat that won't offer the advantages of aluminum bats while at the same time not shattering into splinters.

Maybe going back to ash bats is sufficient, but an ash bat did impale Yeager.