I know you saw it if you attended a game at any professional level last year...Shattered bats that go flying...Thankfully the Frontier League had no major incidents that I am aware of...River City set the standard by announcing a ban on maple bats and now the league has followed suit issuing a full ban for the 2009 season on maple bats...
So the question...What exactly is a maple bat...Well, bats are made of several different kinds of wood and maple has grown in popularity the past few seasons with extended use in MLB and was the primary bat for most Frontier League teams in 2008...While studies will tell you that there is no difference in what kind of wood you use (maple, ash, birch, hickory -- very early in baseball history but may begin a comeback), maple is a harder wood and is very durable meaning it has a longer lifespan...Plus the players feel like it jumps off maple quicker than ash which is the other popular variety.
However, they are very easy to break, and it is not often you see a cracked maple bat, they shatter and travel at very high rates of speed, the safety of them is something that MLB is also dealing with but a ban in the majors will be much harder to achieve...
Maple Bats Banned
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