Mike Shannon, who broadcasts Cardinals games has been obsessed with the fact that bats have been shattering at a record pace this year. The culprit in his opinion is the high amout of maple bat usage in MLB. Since I started collecting a few years ago, I have noticed that there are not nearly as many vintage bats for sale that are shattered, let alone cracked like the maple bats I have seen for sale.

The question is in two parts:

A. Are maple bats just easliy compromised? I have read that some companies do not brand their bats (they foil stamp) in fear of degrading the wood.

B. Are players just stronger nowadays?

Whats the deal? Do the guys who collect vintage bats have a bunch of busted ones that they are keeping to themselves?

Thanks.

Dave