godwulf
12-10-2008, 10:52 AM
Upgraded bats to be used by Major League Baseball next season
16 hours ago
LAS VEGAS — Scary scenes of broken maple bats sailing into the stands or dugouts soon could be a thing of the past.
At least that's what Major League Baseball hopes. All bats used in big league games soon will have their own serial numbers and ink markings for tracking, part of the first step in the sport's efforts to decrease the number of broken bats and ensure a safer environment for players and fans.
By the start of the 2009 regular season, the plan of MLB's safety and health advisory committee is that all bats will have been certified by MLB and that the 32 manufacturers making them will be held to a new list of standards surrounding their production.
"When you have a matter which is susceptible to the kind of sophisticated and detailed analysis and recommendations which this group was able to make, that can tell you what the issues are," union head Donald Fehr said Tuesday at the winter meetings. "I'm not only pleased but proud of the work that's been done. We think this is going to go a long way to solving the issue."
The committee conducted field and laboratory tests, reviewed video of breakages and consulted with manufacturers and experts to come up with nine recommendations to be adopted immediately, San Diego Padres CEO Sandy Alderson said. The committee isn't sure how many fewer bats will break this season, but is hopeful of significant progress.
During a two-month stretch last season, 2,200 broken bats were collected and 750 of those broke into multiple pieces. Also included in the count were bats that cracked but stayed in one piece. Among the committee's findings were that maple bats were three times as likely to break in multiple places as their ash counterparts. Experts insist both types of wood should break at a closer rate - and the slope of the grain is one of the primary contributors to breakage.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5j25h56IppzqS2d3uFDOTGBHgVpVA (http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5j25h56IppzqS2d3uFDOTGBHgVpVA)
What effect, if any, do you forsee this having on the collector's market? It would certainly simplify i.d.ing when a bat was made, for what team a player was playing when he used it, and all that...but is there a potential downside?
16 hours ago
LAS VEGAS — Scary scenes of broken maple bats sailing into the stands or dugouts soon could be a thing of the past.
At least that's what Major League Baseball hopes. All bats used in big league games soon will have their own serial numbers and ink markings for tracking, part of the first step in the sport's efforts to decrease the number of broken bats and ensure a safer environment for players and fans.
By the start of the 2009 regular season, the plan of MLB's safety and health advisory committee is that all bats will have been certified by MLB and that the 32 manufacturers making them will be held to a new list of standards surrounding their production.
"When you have a matter which is susceptible to the kind of sophisticated and detailed analysis and recommendations which this group was able to make, that can tell you what the issues are," union head Donald Fehr said Tuesday at the winter meetings. "I'm not only pleased but proud of the work that's been done. We think this is going to go a long way to solving the issue."
The committee conducted field and laboratory tests, reviewed video of breakages and consulted with manufacturers and experts to come up with nine recommendations to be adopted immediately, San Diego Padres CEO Sandy Alderson said. The committee isn't sure how many fewer bats will break this season, but is hopeful of significant progress.
During a two-month stretch last season, 2,200 broken bats were collected and 750 of those broke into multiple pieces. Also included in the count were bats that cracked but stayed in one piece. Among the committee's findings were that maple bats were three times as likely to break in multiple places as their ash counterparts. Experts insist both types of wood should break at a closer rate - and the slope of the grain is one of the primary contributors to breakage.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5j25h56IppzqS2d3uFDOTGBHgVpVA (http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5j25h56IppzqS2d3uFDOTGBHgVpVA)
What effect, if any, do you forsee this having on the collector's market? It would certainly simplify i.d.ing when a bat was made, for what team a player was playing when he used it, and all that...but is there a potential downside?