Shattered Maple Bat Impales Cub; MLB Ignores Solutions

It's one of those wince-inducing clips:  Promising Cubs rookie Tyler Colvin gets hit with a bat shard while on third base.  The sharp end actually punctured his chest wall, but he still scored before being helped off the field. Colvin's done for the rest of the season, but will be all right.

It looks like there are plenty of options to lower the risks, including Rockbats, developed from research at Madison's Forest Products Lab, but Major League Baseball still has its head in the sand.

(Speaking of heads in the sand regarding sports risks, the issue of serious brain trauma from repeated hits in football, including levels below the pros, isn't going away.)

MLB has pulled the clip from YouTube, but you can see it here.

- Barry Orton

 

Comments

[Ty O'Mara]

Cub fans were aghast. When that shattered bat flew down the third baseline, all they could think was, oh why, why couldn't Zambrano be on third. If Colvin had been permanently injured, I would never had said that.

How about if a player loses control of the bat and it flies into the stands, that player is ejected from the game. If you've ever sat down low near the third or first baseline at Wrigley Field you would know what it feels like to be in danger. A batter swings late on a pitch and you don't have time to react. They should be able to come up with some fine type of netting that wouldn't damage the view. Lastly, maybe the Rockbat will catch on--if it hits like a conventional wooden bat-that is. Please, though, have them take that diamond mark off the bat. Hitters don't need hitting instructions on the bat. It seems to me that the sweet spot should be a bit further down the barrell of bat, nearer the end of the bat. Just sayin.