BMH -- More broken bats now than 10-20 years ago???

[redoctober]

BMH --

I thought of this question while watching games today -- Are the number of bats being produced per player higher today than they were 10 - 20 years ago????

In other words, has the introduction of maple bats truly impacted how many bats are broken, therefore, how many bats are made?? As a point of reference, it seems to me that in the past records, the average player would have a little over 100 bats made per year. How does this compare to today's players?


As always, thanks so much for your participation in this forum! What an awesome way for us fans to connect with an inside source!!

[BMH]

I don't think it has as much to do with wood species as it does bat dimensions and weight to length ratios. Even twenty years ago players were using heavier bats and a thin handle was considered the C243. Now, that's towards the upper end of the scale for handle diameter.

[sox83cubs84]

IMHO, I don't think more are being broken, but it does seem as if more are being shattered, split in pieces, etc...that would be attributable to the Maple wood, but not simply breakage in and of itself. I recall going to the visitors' bat boy at Wrigley Field some 25 years ago and asking about Phillies cracked bats from that day's game. He told me the Phils broke 3...all by Von Hayes.

Dave M.
Chicago area