Maple bats won't be banned by Major League Baseball
The bats, which tend to shatter and launch jagged shards across the field and into the stands, will be permitted to stay in use, but with new standards designed to minimize breakage.
Reporting from Las Vegas — After a season in which jagged chunks of broken maple bats flew across the infield and into the stands in epidemic proportions, Major League Baseball will announce Tuesday that it will not ban the bats.
Instead, after consultation with foresters and bat manufacturers, baseball will adopt rules that enable players to use whatever grain of wood they like -- maple included -- but will provide specifications for bat design intended to minimize the number of bats that break.
Representatives from bat manufacturers are scheduled to meet with MLB officials this afternoon in Las Vegas, in advance of tomorrow's announcement. The announcement was confirmed by two sources informed of the decision but not authorized to speak in advance.
Studies have shown that bats made of the more traditional ash wood tend to crack and splinter when they break, while maple bats tend to shatter violently and in large pieces.
Two serious injuries occurred at Dodger Stadium in April. Pittsburgh Pirates coach Don Long suffered nerve damage after a piece of a shattered maple bat struck him on the side of his face as he stood in the visiting dugout, watching the flight of the ball. And Susan Rhodes, a fan seated four rows behind the visiting dugout, needed surgery to repair a broken jaw after a chunk of a broken maple bat sailed into the side of her face.
But after the commissioner's office and players' union examined more than 1,000 bats broken in games during the 2008 season, a safety committee has decided to permit the continued use of maple bats.
Shaikin is a Times staff writer.
bill.shaikin@latimes.com
