8 year old latest victim to being hit by a broken bat…
Today at a Toledo Mud Hen’s game, an 8 year old boy was hit by a piece of a broken bat. It’s not the first time, nor will it probably be the last time someone has been injured by a broken wooden bat. Back in April, umpire Kerwin Danley ended up with a concussion after being hit by a broken bat in Toronto. In 2008 a fan sued after being severely injured at a New York Mets game by a broken bat hitting him in 2007.
It is believed by some that the reason injuries are on the increase is because players are turning to maple, which shatters when it breaks as opposed to bats made of ash and oak, though it can also happen if the wood isn’t dried correctly. Last season more than 2,200 broken bats were collected during a 2 1/2-month span, and 750 of them were broken in multiple pieces according to Tom Hoffarth. He also points out that the standards for wooden bats were supposed to be changed, but it doesn’t appear that is working…
Last year it was also stated:
“I’ve never seen so many bats broken in my life,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland says. “They talk about the best wood, the best this and that … either the pitchers are so good they’re jamming the s— out of everybody, or the bats are that (bad).
“I’ve never seen so many bats flying, breaking in half. … I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. It’s mind-boggling. Every game, somebody’s ducking a bat.
“We spend more time picking bats up in the infield than we’ve done at any time in the history of the game. “Somebody’s going to get hurt, bad. It’s dangerous.”
It sounds like we can in part blame:
“Ash was pretty much all we made until six or seven years ago,” said Rick Redman, spokesperson for Louisville Slugger, the oldest and largest bat maker in the country (124 years old this year). “Then Barry Bonds started using maple bats, and more and more players started asking for them.”
Two seasons ago, according to Redman, was the first time the company’s production of maple bats for major leaguers exceeded ash.
Supposedly in May broken bats went from one bat per game to .8 bat per game, not sure that’s much to cheer about since it seems the injuries are still continuing…
Hope the young guy is okay.
June 25th, 2009 at 1:01 pmIt appears to me as a fan that at least in MLB broken bats are down a little bit this year. The last couple season it was very dangerous with all the bats breaking and flying every which way.
Still something you have to be aware of.
June 25th, 2009 at 5:03 pmI went to the Hens game on the 12th. Twice the bat broke. I just thought it was one of those ironic things that happended. I hope the kid is not afraid to go to another game. He deserves a lifetime pass.
June 25th, 2009 at 5:04 pmWonder where they are buying these bats and whether the wood is of high enough quality. Or maybe made in China?
June 25th, 2009 at 10:11 pmFrankly, the fact is that they are swinging on inside pitches
we should ban that
It is even worse at huntington park, as the park got special permission to shrink in size to fit in the city block
June 26th, 2009 at 3:10 pmSpeaking of the Clippers, i am going to shamelessly self promote http://whalertly.com/clippers/