jerseydave.com
07-26-2008, 11:23 PM
I heard this today, I wonder if teams will have to stop selling current bats as well?
Baseball to study bats
Experts will analyze 257 broken bats collected since July 2
Jack Curry, The New York TimesComment on this story (http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1154574.html#MI_Comments_Link)
Over the last three weeks, every bat in Major League Baseball that has shattered, chipped, cracked or smashed during a game has been collected so that it can be analyzed, part of a heightened effort to deal with the safety concerns caused by the proliferation of broken bats.In addition, Major League Baseball has also enlisted some eclectic new consultants -- a wood research institute at the University of Wisconsin and a statistician at Harvard -- as it tries to develop a better understanding of why so many bats are breaking and what can be done to remedy the situation.
Since July 2, all 30 teams have been instructed to save broken bats, a span of 260 games that has produced 257 broken bats, or nearly one per game.
"This is our biggest effort to have all the clubs' bats collected," said Pat Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball.
The bats are being collected by the authenticators who work for Major League Baseball and usually focus on validating instant memorabilia -- such as bats and balls -- from that day's games. Now those authenticators are noting the details of each broken-bat incident -- the player, the type of bat and the manufacturer.
After the information is placed in a database, the bats are being sent to baseball's newly appointed experts. Major League Baseball has worked out a consulting agreement with Forest Products Laboratory, an institute at the University of Wisconsin that was established nearly a century ago by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In addition, Carl Morris, a statistician at Harvard, has also been hired to assist baseball's safety and health advisory committee in determining the significance of the compiled data.
After the safety committee met last month, it announced that it planned to consult with bat experts and bat manufacturers, conduct field and laboratory tests and gather information about protective procedures in various ballparks. It is expected that Major League Baseball's investigation will lead to stricter qualifications for companies to be approved to make bats.
The committee, which is made up of representatives from the commissioner's office, the players' union and all the teams, has also begun to visit bat manufacturers.
Courtney said Louisville Slugger, which is the leading producer of major league bats, met with representatives of the committee this week at the company's headquarters in Louisville. A questionnaire was also sent to the more than 30 manufacturers who are approved to make bats.
Sam Holman, who is the founder of Original Maple Bat Corp., has suggested that some companies could be using inferior wood, and that that could be a primary reason why more bats are faltering.
Baseball to study bats
Experts will analyze 257 broken bats collected since July 2
Jack Curry, The New York TimesComment on this story (http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1154574.html#MI_Comments_Link)
Over the last three weeks, every bat in Major League Baseball that has shattered, chipped, cracked or smashed during a game has been collected so that it can be analyzed, part of a heightened effort to deal with the safety concerns caused by the proliferation of broken bats.In addition, Major League Baseball has also enlisted some eclectic new consultants -- a wood research institute at the University of Wisconsin and a statistician at Harvard -- as it tries to develop a better understanding of why so many bats are breaking and what can be done to remedy the situation.
Since July 2, all 30 teams have been instructed to save broken bats, a span of 260 games that has produced 257 broken bats, or nearly one per game.
"This is our biggest effort to have all the clubs' bats collected," said Pat Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball.
The bats are being collected by the authenticators who work for Major League Baseball and usually focus on validating instant memorabilia -- such as bats and balls -- from that day's games. Now those authenticators are noting the details of each broken-bat incident -- the player, the type of bat and the manufacturer.
After the information is placed in a database, the bats are being sent to baseball's newly appointed experts. Major League Baseball has worked out a consulting agreement with Forest Products Laboratory, an institute at the University of Wisconsin that was established nearly a century ago by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In addition, Carl Morris, a statistician at Harvard, has also been hired to assist baseball's safety and health advisory committee in determining the significance of the compiled data.
After the safety committee met last month, it announced that it planned to consult with bat experts and bat manufacturers, conduct field and laboratory tests and gather information about protective procedures in various ballparks. It is expected that Major League Baseball's investigation will lead to stricter qualifications for companies to be approved to make bats.
The committee, which is made up of representatives from the commissioner's office, the players' union and all the teams, has also begun to visit bat manufacturers.
Courtney said Louisville Slugger, which is the leading producer of major league bats, met with representatives of the committee this week at the company's headquarters in Louisville. A questionnaire was also sent to the more than 30 manufacturers who are approved to make bats.
Sam Holman, who is the founder of Original Maple Bat Corp., has suggested that some companies could be using inferior wood, and that that could be a primary reason why more bats are faltering.