An unscientific solution to the "Maple Bat Problem"
by Dex on Sep 11, 2008 8:30 AM PDT
6 comments
There is a problem in Baseball and instead of solving the problem, Baseball is using stupidity under the guise of scientific study to try the solve the problem. Baseball, the sport that eschews technology wherever it possibily can, is attempting to turn the corner and use technology to solve a problem that could most logically be solved without the use of technology.
Before you go on, keep in mind that these are the people who didn't want to have night games because you'd have to use lights and lights make it harder to see in the dark.
OK Good...
The problem that I'm talking about is The Maple Bat Problem. As Axion points out in the FanShots, MLB has first reports from their continuing investigation into the Case of the Breaking Bats.
As a reminder, from the very first paragraph:
The Safety and Health Advisory Committee that is charged by Major League Baseball and the Players Association to determine the reason why so many maple bats are shattering in big league games said on Tuesday that it is nearing the point where it can soon make "short-term and long-term recommendations to address the issue."
This is Baseball's biggest issue. They're given a problem, and instead of solving the problem, they're pretending to work on it by redefining it. The way in which they define the problem is screwed up. They're trying to solve the problem of why maple bats break, but that's not actually the problem.
The actual problem they're trying to solve is the assumption that somebody's going to eventually get killed by one of these broken bats. Baseball isn't in the business of woodworking. Baseball is in the business of managing a game.
When Baseball figured that there was a steroid problem, they didn't investigate as to whether or not scientists could come up with a serum to cure baseball players of steroids. They implemented a rule change. If you're caught with steroids, then you're kicked out of the game you undergo a series of warnings and red tape.
So... if the problem is that we don't want people getting hurt by broken bats, then why can't we just make it against the rules to hurt people with broken bats?
If, during the course of an at-bat, any piece of equipment being used by a batter leaves his person in such a way as to interfere or potentially cause injury to anyone around him, the batter is immediately called out. This includes pieces of broken bat.
If we're figuring that some teams manage to break 3 or 4 bats over the course of the game and this rule were put into place, don't you think teams and players would really quickly find their own solutions? Some players may moan and continue to use the bats because they aren't explicitly banned, but let them shatter a bat in a key situation and catch hell from his team and he'll fall into line.
I've suggested this solution for years, but have never seen anything similar anywhere. Is it because I'm crazy? Probably yes.
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yum
candy corn.
What was the rest of the argument?
"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. " ~Frank Sinatra
by Sammy G on Sep 11, 2008 2:02 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
If breaking bats becomes against the law
then only outlaws will break bats! :D
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?
by Axion on Sep 11, 2008 2:05 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
By jove
Candy corn is pretty resilient, we should just use that. It’s been around since 1911 you know.
The worst thing about Halloween is, of course, candy corn. It’s unbelievable to me. Candy corn is the only candy in the history of America that’s never been advertised. And there’s a reason. All of the candy corn that was ever made was made in 1911. And so, since nobody eats that stuff, every year there’s a ton of it left over. And the candy corn company sends the guys to the villages and they collect out of the dumpsters all the candy corn we’ve thrown away. They wash it!! They wash it!
I’ll never forget the first time my mother gave me candy corn. She said, “Here – Lewis, this is candy corn. It’s corn that tastes like candy”. [high pitched sound] This tastes like crap! And every year since then, Halloween has returned and I, like an Alzhiemer’s patient, find myself in the room, and the room has a big table in it, and on the table is a bowl of candy corn. And I look at it as if I’ve never seen it before. “Candy corn”, I think. “Corn that tastes like candy. I can’t wait”. Son of a bitch!! —Lewis Black
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?
by Axion on Sep 11, 2008 2:08 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Not sure
Does anyone know if there is a statistic on batting average when a bat breaks (actually shatters for this rule)? I feel like the average is very low (like 0.100). That would mean that calling those few people out would not make much of a difference. It should be enough of a difference to change the players attitude. So should the science that I have read that says maple bats do not perform any better, but shatters more often and endangers others.
by Baron Von Metzger on Sep 12, 2008 7:48 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Good point
That’s a good point. I’d still think it would be a good rule. What gets me is that when you see batters safe after the bat breaks and the fielders are forced to dodge the bat before playing the ball. It seems to me that a really decent strategy for almost any hitter would be to let the bat go flying after making contact with the ball or whenever there’s a runner on base. If a runner is stealing second, what better way to protect him than to literally throw the bat out into the field to distract the defense?
by Dex on Sep 12, 2008 8:27 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
No reason not to have the rule
I am not sure if the proposed rule would fix the problem, but I see no reason why not implementing it. A bat on the field should be considered interference, and maybe people would be smart enough to use ash.
by Baron Von Metzger on Sep 12, 2008 9:45 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
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