If you watched baseball at all in 2008 you couldn’t help but hear some of the buzz and controversy surrounding the danger of maple and birch bats. From July to the end of the regular season, according the Major Leauge Baseball, over 2200 baseball bats were broken, over 700 of which shattered into multiple peices, with some notable injuries to both players and fans. As a result of a research study commissioned by MLB that examined broken bats and video footage of shattering bats and compared ash bats to maple bats, the 2009 baseball season brings with it some signifigant changes to MLB wood bat regulations and recommendations based on their findings.

It basically comes down to a question of grain.  Maple wood is harder than ash due to it’s very different grain. This difference is what leads to maples’ tendency to shatter. Research also indicated that bat breakage may be due to the grain in the maple not being straight enough. What’s called the ”slope of grain”, or the comparison between the grain line and a straight line, should be no more than 3-degrees at the handle and taper end of the bat; since that is where most maple bats seem to rupture. In essence, the straighter the grain the stronger the wood.

To deal with these issues the research team submitted a list of recommendations that MLB is instituting.

1. Bats must adhere to a slope of grain requirement of a bit less than 3-degrees for the handle and taper regions.
2. Bat makers must place an ink dot on the face grain side of the handle for maple and birch bats to gauge the slope angle
3. The hitting surface for maple and birch needs to be the face grain, not the edge grain, meaning a quarter turn (90-degrees) placement of trademarks on bats
4. Handles for maple and birch bats must be either natural or clear finished (to see the grain and ink dot)
5. Bat makers need a system to track maple and birch bats that leave their shops
6. Bat makers need to participate in an MLB sponsored workshop on engineering and grading of wood
7. Bat makers will be visited and audited for manufacturing processes and tracking systems
8. Audits will also be made randomly at ballparks
9. An on-going third-party certification program needs to be set up to deal with any new innovations that come along in the future

However, the ramifications for everyone but the MLB are not as great as you might think. Will we non-MLB players be able buy maple bats with ink spots showing? Can you find a bat that has the trademark rotated 90-degrees? (Check out MLB’s articles and videos on the subject here).

As of now, probably not. Only one company that we know of, Rock Bats, is currently selling MLB regulation wood to anyone but the MLB.

The reasons for this are numerous.  The new requirements add additional cost due to the changes that must be made to the production process.  Due to the injuries and potential for injury, not only are their production costs higher, their certification and insurance costs are doubling if they want to stay a part of the MLB line-up. As a result, some companies are ceasing to offer maple and returning to ash, which at least breaks in a fairly predictable manner.

For the bat makers who are still making and supplying maple and birch to MLB, they will have to adhere to the new standards; meaning that players that favored black maple bats are out of luck. All maple and birch bats are required to have a natural or clear finish so that the the black ink dot, roughly 1/4 of an inch which manufacturers will be required to place on the bat handle,  can be clearly visible. The ink dots will allow inspectors to  see that the bat’s slope of grain is within the proper range;  if the ink bleeds more than a quarter of an inch diagonally, the bat is not certified.

It must be noted that there continues to be controversy between bat manufacturers and MLB as to the true merit of the studies and the effectiveness of the regulation changes. MLB, the players association and manufacturers are continuing research and plan to study how different drying methods and overall bat shape may be affecting bat breakage, and if changing bat geometry may be more effective than tightly controlling slope-of-grain. Keep checking back for updates as we will be carefully watching what comes of these new studies.

In the meantime, since these new bat regulations will not affect the bats that the amature player uses, what can you do to ensure bat safety?

1. Buy a bat with a natural, clear, or very light  finish on at least the handle, to enable you to see the grain clearly.
2. Adjust your grip to hit with the face grain.
3. Inspect your bats carefully and often.

Stay safe and happy hitting!

Tagged with: baseball, baseball bats, MLB

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