Like most of the cast of thousands at Dodger Stadium, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ hitting coach was watching the ball. As fate would have it, he should have been watching the bat.
A split second later, the jagged edge of Nate McLouth’s bat barrel ripped through the left side of Don Long’s face, slicing nerves and splattering blood across his jersey.
“I turned my head to watch the ball,” Long said. “The bat broke and, as it rotated, it cut across my face. Got me pretty good.”
Three months later, Long’s smile has returned to normal, but the nerve damage hasn’t fully healed. And he looks more like a hockey player than a hitting coach with that 1 1/2-inch vertical scar beside his nose.
Yes, Long’s bloody brush with McLouth’s bat barrel was an accident, a fluke, an isolated incident. But not isolated enough. More and more, flying shards from maple bats are making big-league ballparks a dangerous place.
Long was standing on the steps of the visitors’ dugout at Dodger Stadium. Barely a month later, Susan Rhodes, sitting four rows behind the same dugout, had her jaw broken in two places when the barrel of Todd Helton’s maple bat, borrowed from teammate Troy Tulowitzki, went looking for trouble.
Surgeons placed four screws and a titanium plate in Rhodes’ jaw, with more medical care — and bills — yet to come. Her attorney, Alan Ghaleb, estimates the tab at $30,000 to $50,000 for the short term, with aftercare running it up even more. Ghaleb wants somebody to pay, so much so that he’s considering a lawsuit.
“It’s not a punitive-damage case,” Ghaleb said. “We’re not trying to punish them. . . . I just think there’s a new element of danger. There’s been a shift in the risk with these exploding bats, and that risk hasn’t been accounted for. It’s supposed to be take me out to the ballgame, not take me out of the ballgame.”
There are more incidents where those came from, each involving a maple bat snapping between the handle and barrel. Rockies manager Clint Hurdle estimates the average at three per game. Former Kansas City Royals infielder-turned-TV analyst Frank White was so alarmed by the situation, he began counting exploding bats during spring training. The results? He never saw fewer than five in a game.
Give all these bat shards one thing: They don’t discriminate. When bats attack, they’ll go after anyone. A hitting coach, a woman in the stands, even an umpire or an owner.
Hurdle’s team has been involved in several nasty broken-bat incidents this season. Most happened on the field, but, when it comes to maple bats, even the runway behind the dugout isn’t a safe haven. That’s where Tulowitzki slammed his maple bat in frustration, only to have it explode and slice open his right palm, sending him to the disabled list.
Some bats “pile of junk”
What gives with all these maple bats breaking? It’s a multifaceted question, one the powers that be are trying to answer. Commissioner Bud Selig has ordered an industry-wide study, with equipment personnel noting which company’s bats shatter most often.
“I’m very concerned about it,” Selig said. “I must say I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Maple bats didn’t exist until the final years of the 20th century. That’s when technological advancements enabled manufacturers to remove moisture from the wood, making it light enough to swing. Since, maple bats have become all the rage in the major leagues, with about three-fourths of the players using them.
Whether maple bats are breaking more frequently in 2008 than in previous seasons is debatable. But Sam Holman, who developed the maple Sam Bat that Barry Bonds used to hit 73 home runs, says the answer is yes, and for one very obvious reason: There are too many companies making too many bats, the likes of which Holman wouldn’t send to a client.
“You have to take every drop of moisture out of it,” Holman said. “You leave any moisture in maple and you’re asking for trouble. I see what you’re seeing on the field. There’s a pile of junk being sent out there.”
Maple becomes popular
A University of Massachusetts study commissioned by MLB determined that the ball doesn’t fly any farther off maple bats than it does off ash, a staple of big-league bat racks for more than a century.
So why use it? Every hitter interviewed for this story responded to the question with the same answer: It all comes down to feel.
“It’s a different feel, a different sound,” Rockies infielder Clint Barmes said. “I felt like the ball jumped off the barrel when I started using them, so I stuck with them. I don’t know if the maple bat hits the ball any farther than ash. It’s what feels comfortable in your hands.”
Matt Holliday has become an MVP-caliber player thanks to his trusty Old Hickory bat. He prefers the feel of maple over ash. Then there’s the durability factor. Maple, because it’s a denser wood than ash, doesn’t splinter along the grain.
“That was the big reason I switched,” Holliday said. “I like to feel the same bat in batting practice that I use in the game.”
The problem with maple bats isn’t just the wood itself. Gone are the days when Nellie Fox used a bat whose handle was virtually as thick as the barrel. With so much emphasis on the long ball, today’s hitters prefer bats with thin handles and thick barrels, the tops of which are hollowed out to lighten the bat and provide maximum torque.
It sounds good, but it’s asking for trouble. When a hitter gets jammed near the handle, the bat has a tendency to break and send the barrel, jagged edge and all, spiraling through the air. Even when a hitter gets the sweet spot on the ball, the bat can snap.
Maple bats are so dense, they can develop slight cracks inside the barrel that aren’t apparent until it’s too late, until a hitter subsequently makes contact and the barrel hits the airwaves. Such was believed to be the case when Chris Iannetta snapped his maple bat Thursday night at Coors Field. The barrel took flight, but the ball landed in the left-field seats.
Although the exact frequency of maple bats breaking won’t be known until MLB concludes its study, there’s no debate about one aspect of the problem: Maple breaks more violently than ash.
“Maple tends to come apart vs. an ash bat, which just cracks,” said Travis Copley, vice president of sales and marketing for Old Hickory bats. “The smallest handle and thickest barrel possible is not a recipe for bats staying in one piece.”
That’s why Copley believes the MLB study could lead to a change in bat specifications, as in slightly wider handles and slightly thinner barrels.
Changes not expected
The notion of abolishing maple bats is gaining momentum with each passing mishap, but that’s not likely to happen. Why? Because so many players have made so much money swinging them, the players union would figure to oppose any limitation on their use.
“It’s not something that can be done unilaterally,” MLB spokesman Paul Courtney said.
The players say if maple bats were phased out, they simply would switch to ash.
“I wouldn’t be that upset about it,” Holliday said. “I don’t think they should. Maybe you have a higher percentage of maple bats that blow up, but ash bats occasionally could hurt somebody, too.”
Until the fallout from the MLB study arrives, players will continue to swing maple bats. What to do? Selig is adamant that extra netting around the dugouts isn’t the answer.
“Putting up nets is not a practical solution,” he told reporters at the All-Star Game. “We need to find the root cause of the problem. I don’t want to obstruct the view of the fans.”
Said Helton: “Fans are just like us. Their eyes are following the ball. At least with a ball, you’ve got a chance to get out of the way. But with a bat, you always follow the ball, so you don’t see it. Next thing you know, people are getting whacked in the head. That’s scary.”
Denver Post staff writer Troy E. Renck contributed to this report.
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
When bats attack
Mishaps involving maple bats are becoming commonplace in big-league ballparks. The Rockies alone have been in games with five bat-related incidents this season. A look:
April 25, Dodger Stadium: Todd Helton cracks his bat — a loaner from Troy Tulowitzki — sending the barrel into the stands, where it strikes Susan Rhodes four rows above the visitors’ dugout. Rhodes suffers fractures to her upper left and lower right jaw.
May 15, Chase Field: The barrel from Matt Holliday’s bat hits a concrete railing, barely avoiding a group of people that included Diamondbacks owner Jeff Moorad. “If it had been 2 1/2 inches higher, it might have literally ended up going through one of us,” Moor- ad said.
June 10, Coors Field: Giants outfielder Fred Lewis stands at the plate with his bat handle as the ball and barrel fly toward the mound. Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook reaches for the ball and doesn’t see the barrel before it slams into his right shin, causing considerable swelling.
June 24, Kauffman Stadium: Home plate umpire Brian O’Nora suffers lacerations to his forehead, sending blood gushing down his face, when the bat snaps as Miguel Olivo finishes his swing.
July 4, Coors Field: Tulowitzki slams his bat in frustration after he is taken out of a game vs. Florida. The bat explodes in his hand, slicing his right palm and requiring 16 stitches.
Jim Armstrong, The Denver Post
