by Matt Snyder

Filed under: MLB Biz

Baseball bats have been manufactured with white ash for as long as most baseball fans can remember. It is easily the most ideal wood to be used, because it cracks when it breaks instead of shattering. See the inset picture for an illustration. Evan Longoria, left, is tapping his ash bat on the ground to see if it’s been cracked or not. In the other photo, Chase Utley’s maple bat is shattering — which often sends sharp and jagged pieces flying dangerously into the playing field, or, worse, the crowd.

Over the past few seasons, baseball has been doing extensive research on these maple bats, but now a new bat issue has emerged. Ash trees could be in serious danger in North America.

Bugs Put Ash Bat’s Future in Jeopardy originally appeared on Fanhouse MLB Blog on Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments