ndevlin
08-14-2008, 02:15 PM
A few weeks old, but was interesting to read.
MLB puts 257 broken bats under scrutiny
Safety concerns rise with shattered wood
By JACK CURRY
THE NEW YORK TIMES
(Editor's Note: This story's credit line has been changed since it was originally published. Writer Jack Curry writes for The New York Times, not The Associated Press.)
Over the past three weeks, every bat in Major League Baseball that has shattered, chipped, cracked or smashed during a game has been collected so that it can be analyzed, part of a heightened effort to deal with the safety concerns caused by the proliferation of broken bats.
In addition, Major League Baseball has also enlisted some eclectic new consultants -- a wood research institute at the University of Wisconsin and a statistician at Harvard -- as it tries to develop a better understanding of why so many bats are breaking and what can be done to remedy the situation.
Since July 2, all 30 teams have been instructed to save broken bats, a span of 260 games that has produced 257 broken bats, or nearly one per game.
"This is our biggest effort to have all the clubs' bats collected," said Pat Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball.
The bats are being collected by the authenticators who work for Major League Baseball and usually focus on validating instant memorabilia -- such as bats and balls -- from that day's games. Now those authenticators are noting the details of each broken-bat incident -- the player, the type of bat and the manufacturer.
After the information is placed in a database, the bats are being sent to baseball's newly appointed experts.
Major League Baseball has worked out a consulting agreement with Forest Products Laboratory, an institute at the University of Wisconsin that was established nearly a century ago by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In addition, Carl Morris, a statistician at Harvard, has been hired to assist baseball's safety and health advisory committee in determining the significance of the compiled data.
After the safety committee met last month, it announced that it planned to consult with bat experts and bat manufacturers, conduct field and laboratory tests and gather information about protective procedures in various ballparks. It is expected that Major League Baseball's investigation will lead to stricter qualifications for companies to be approved to make bats.
The committee, made up of representatives from the commissioner's office, the players' union and all the teams, has also begun to visit bat manufacturers. Courtney said Louisville Slugger, the leading producer of major league bats, met with committee representatives this week at the company's headquarters in Louisville. A questionnaire was also sent to more than 30 manufacturers who are approved to make bats.
Sam Holman, founder of Original Maple Bat Corp., has suggested that some companies could be using inferior wood, and that could be a primary reason why more bats are faltering. Holman, who said none of his 74 clients has complained about broken bats, said he favored stricter standards.
One of the rules about bats that the committee is discussing involves the difference between the length and weight. The maximum difference a bat can have is currently three and a half. For instance, a 34-inch bat must weigh at least 30 1/2 ounces.
Since many players shave the handles of their bats, they make them even lighter and could therefore be violating the weight-length rule.
Commissioner Bud Selig has dismissed the idea that teams should add netting at ballparks in addition to the standard foul screen in the home-plate area.
Selig said additional netting was not a "practical solution" and created other problems, such as obscuring the views of fans who pay premium prices for tickets.
MLB puts 257 broken bats under scrutiny
Safety concerns rise with shattered wood
By JACK CURRY
THE NEW YORK TIMES
(Editor's Note: This story's credit line has been changed since it was originally published. Writer Jack Curry writes for The New York Times, not The Associated Press.)
Over the past three weeks, every bat in Major League Baseball that has shattered, chipped, cracked or smashed during a game has been collected so that it can be analyzed, part of a heightened effort to deal with the safety concerns caused by the proliferation of broken bats.
In addition, Major League Baseball has also enlisted some eclectic new consultants -- a wood research institute at the University of Wisconsin and a statistician at Harvard -- as it tries to develop a better understanding of why so many bats are breaking and what can be done to remedy the situation.
Since July 2, all 30 teams have been instructed to save broken bats, a span of 260 games that has produced 257 broken bats, or nearly one per game.
"This is our biggest effort to have all the clubs' bats collected," said Pat Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball.
The bats are being collected by the authenticators who work for Major League Baseball and usually focus on validating instant memorabilia -- such as bats and balls -- from that day's games. Now those authenticators are noting the details of each broken-bat incident -- the player, the type of bat and the manufacturer.
After the information is placed in a database, the bats are being sent to baseball's newly appointed experts.
Major League Baseball has worked out a consulting agreement with Forest Products Laboratory, an institute at the University of Wisconsin that was established nearly a century ago by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In addition, Carl Morris, a statistician at Harvard, has been hired to assist baseball's safety and health advisory committee in determining the significance of the compiled data.
After the safety committee met last month, it announced that it planned to consult with bat experts and bat manufacturers, conduct field and laboratory tests and gather information about protective procedures in various ballparks. It is expected that Major League Baseball's investigation will lead to stricter qualifications for companies to be approved to make bats.
The committee, made up of representatives from the commissioner's office, the players' union and all the teams, has also begun to visit bat manufacturers. Courtney said Louisville Slugger, the leading producer of major league bats, met with committee representatives this week at the company's headquarters in Louisville. A questionnaire was also sent to more than 30 manufacturers who are approved to make bats.
Sam Holman, founder of Original Maple Bat Corp., has suggested that some companies could be using inferior wood, and that could be a primary reason why more bats are faltering. Holman, who said none of his 74 clients has complained about broken bats, said he favored stricter standards.
One of the rules about bats that the committee is discussing involves the difference between the length and weight. The maximum difference a bat can have is currently three and a half. For instance, a 34-inch bat must weigh at least 30 1/2 ounces.
Since many players shave the handles of their bats, they make them even lighter and could therefore be violating the weight-length rule.
Commissioner Bud Selig has dismissed the idea that teams should add netting at ballparks in addition to the standard foul screen in the home-plate area.
Selig said additional netting was not a "practical solution" and created other problems, such as obscuring the views of fans who pay premium prices for tickets.