Should the MLB issue a ban on maple bats?

Yes

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by Ben Burrows

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Should the MLB allow the use of maple bats or initiate an all out ban on them? I believe that with recent events the MLB should have an all out ban on maple bats. To many bats are shattering and someone could get hurt very fast. Bats have been breaking forever but not to this degree. Major League baseball needs to do something before one more person is seriously hurt if not killed.

During this past baseball season it would seem that bats are breaking like twigs whenever they are swung. The bats that you see breaking are those constructed of maple. This happens to be the most popular choice among players as the type of bat they use. Other players choose to use bats made with ash which is a stronger wood. The maple bats seem to break easier and shatter in half and work as sharp projectiles that are shot onto the field at players or into the stands at helpless fans. Just the idea that a bat breaks isn't the problem but the fact that at this rate it is very likely that a player or even a fan will be seriously hurt or even killed.

Unfortunately there are a few that have been seriously hurt by the use of maple bats already. On April 15 of this year Don Long, the Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach was struck in the face below the eye by a bat while standing in the dugout and needed 10 stitches to close the cut. Mr. Long was lucky compared to a unfortunate fan who at Dodger Stadium was hit by a bat that had been broken and flew into the stands. The barrel of the bat was broken off while being used by Todd Helton and was launched into the stands where it hit her face and broke her jaw. In a more recent event a umpire was seriously injured by a piece of a broken bat. A home plate umpire named Brian O'Nora was hit in the forehead by the barrel of a bat used by Miguel Olivo and suffered a laceration on his forehead and had to be helped off the field and taken to a hospital.

Players are continuously using bats made of maple and have thin handles with more weight on the head of the bat. Doing this helps them throw the bat through the strike zone crushing the ball. While doing this it makes the handle of the bat more brittle and easier to break. When it breaks the barrel is launched in any direction at anyone. Major League baseball needs to act now before someone is killed. Some players would be against this switch because they have had great success while using maple bats and may have drops in statistics after the switch to ash. Well that is nice but a person's life is more important than a few batting average points. The players should just shut up and let this go through before someone is killed and a change is forced not chosen. Let's save a life and make the switch now.

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