Diablo Bats?

[mattmueller]

What is the situation with Diablo Bats and MLB? I was of the understanding they were no longer approved by MLB for game bat use. Is this for maple bats only? Ash as well? Reason I ask is that in last night's (Fri 5-15) game, Prince Fielder used a D-bat in his first AB. Given the game was canceled after a couple innings, I couldn't find any photos to check specifics of the bat, but just curious if anybody knew the D-bat situation.

[brianborsch]

Aren't Diablo Bats a different company from D-Bats? If so Diablo may be banned or whatever, but D-Bats can still be used.

BB

[FanofGriffey3]

I could be wrong. But, I thought the problem with Diablo was the barrel color. When they changed to a lighter color I thought they were allowed to be used. Again, I could be wrong. Chris

[Mauer7]

Diablo and D-Bat are two entirely seperate manufacturers. D-bat is still approved whereas Diablo is not. I believe Diablo was not abe to afford the increased insurance premiums with the new stricter bat regulations.

[mattmueller]

My fault, not sure where the Diablo bat came from in the first sentence, I meant D-bat. Thanks for the clarity that D-bat is still ok.

Matt

[OaklandAsFan]

I asked Eric Chavez during ST why he wasn't using Diablo bats anymore and he told me that MLB priced him out with their licensing fees.

[BMH]

Yes, they are two different companies.

I doubt Diablo will ever make professional bats again, they burned a lot of bridges.