Skipper not broken up over bat issue

By Joe Scalzo

MLB commissioner Bud Selig may recommend a ban on maple bats.

NILES — More than a half-dozen bats broke during Monday’s game between the Scrappers and Doubledays, but Mahoning Valley manager Travis Fryman thought it had more to do with the hitters and pitchers than the bats.

“What you saw was indicative of young hitting and young pitchers trying to work the ball in a little bit,” Fryman said. “Nothing more than that.”

Maple bats, which have become more popular in the major leagues over the past decade, have come under scrutiny in recent months because of their tendency to shatter, which can be dangerous for players and fans. Ash bats, meanwhile, typically splinter.

A Dodger fan was hit in the jaw with the barrel end of a broken maple bat in April — she wound up with a concussion — and Pirates hitting coach Don Long was cut in the face by a maple bat shard in April.

MLB commissioner Bud Selig has expressed concern over maple bats and may recommend a ban, although the players union would have to approve it. The league has also discussed extending the protective netting to cover the areas behind the dugouts.

Fryman said he used an ash bat during his career with the Indians and Tigers but sometimes used a maple bat during batting practice because it lasted longer.

“Maple’s pretty hard, so you have to get jammed pretty bad for it to break,” Fryman said.

Many hitters in short season Class A are coming straight from college, where they used aluminum bats, which are lighter and more forgiving.

Hitting a ball on the handle in college can sometimes result in a bloop hit. In the minors, it will break the bat, which helps explain why young hitters break so many bats.

“It’s an enormous adjustment,” Fryman said of switching to wood bats. “Some of the guys play in summer wooden bat leagues, but the average fastball here is several miles per hour faster than what they normally see in college. And they’re swinging a heavier bat.”

A 34-inch aluminum bat weighs 31 ounces, Fryman said, while a 34-inch wood bat weighs 32 ounces.

“You have to develop the strength to hit with wood, and you’re also seeing better pitching day in and day out,” Fryman said.

scalzo@vindy.com