Tyler Colvin impaled by flying bat fragment, hospitalized

[Balta1701]

So, I thought this deserved it's own thread.

Tyler Colvin is in stable condition at a local hospital after being impaled in his upper left chest by a piece of broken bat during Sunday's game at Sun Life Stadium.

 

Colvin was scoring from third on Welington Castillo's RBI double when a piece of bat hit him in his chest. He was transported to the Ryder Trauma Unit of Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where X-rays are being taken and the wound is being sutured.

 

There was no immediate word on the depth of the wound, though it was only a few inches from his heart and could've been much more serious. The sharp end of the larger piece of Castillo's broken bat is what went into Colvin's chest.

 

The Cubs said there was minimal external bleeding. Colvin may remain in the hospital overnight for tests, and there's a possibility he will be shut down for the season, though it's too soon for any decision.

Link for photo

[Rowand44]

Scary stuff.

[HuskyCaucasian]

The broken bat epidemic needs to be addressed. I've been saying for a while it was only going to be looked at seriously when a player gets impaled. Well.....

[bmags]

So...the flying bat piece was coming from the batter right? At first I thought it said he was scoring from second and someone had like mortal combatted him.

[Balta1701]

Colvin says he's ok, but they're going to keep him at the hospital for a couple days for observation. I'd guess that means they're worried about infection. He'll miss the remainder of the season.

[iamshack]

As AHB said, I've been waiting for this to happen, and knew it would take a player being impaled before they even bothered to look at the situation.

 

They honestly need to ban maple bats.

 

Pretty sad that this has been allowed to go on for so long.

[Balta1701]

As AHB said, I've been waiting for this to happen, and knew it would take a player being impaled before they even bothered to look at the situation.

 

They honestly need to ban maple bats.

 

Pretty sad that this has been allowed to go on for so long.

Rob Neyer's take

Why hasn't some real fix been mandated yet? Some will blame Major League Baseball. Some will blame Rawlings and other bat manufacturers. But most of the blame, paradoxically enough, goes to the players. If the Players Association pushed for safer bats, what would Major League Baseball and the bat-makers say?

 

The exact moment players demand action, it's a done deal because none of the other parties would be able to raise any objection that could pass muster with the public or anyone else. Game over.

 

Why hasn't it happened? Because the players, collectively, care more about their freedom to use any bat they like than about some potentially catastrophic injury. They figure that even if something terrible does happen, it won't happen to them.

 

Which is true. There are more than 1,000 members of the Major League Baseball Players Association, and the odds are greatly against any particular member getting seriously hurt or killed. As a pure calculation, perhaps it really does make sense for each player to resist any measure, no matter how apparently sensible, that might impinge upon his personal freedom.

 

It'll be funny, though, how fast the calculation will change if there is a fatality.

[Wanne]

That really could have been disasterous...Colvin is a fortunate young man that it didn't end up much worse than it did. I really does need to be addressed.

[lostfan]

Near miss? That was a NEAR HIT! If it actually hits his heart, THEN it's a near miss!

 

(modified from George Carlin)

 

Seriously though iamshack is totally right, is it going to take someone getting killed, literally, before anything is done about this?

[Balta1701]

Seriously though iamshack is totally right, is it going to take someone getting killed, literally, before anything is done about this?

I feel amazed that this hasn't become a bigger story.

[lostfan]

I feel amazed that this hasn't become a bigger story.

Jeff Passan was harping on it a couple times earlier this year (like Kalapse has said a few times, Passan is an awesome writer)

[StrangeSox]

I'd bet this adds ammunition to that case of the fan suing MLB (and Ramon Castro, I think) over this.

[NorthSideSox72]

Rob Neyer's take

Actually, the real cause isn't about players or the MLB. American Ash is a species leaving this earth thanks to the Emerald Ash Borer. Maple was the most highly considered alternative.

 

Not to say they shouldn't continue trying to find ways to improve, but, people seem to have this odd idea that maple bats were some sort of MLB desire. They weren't.

 

[Gregory Pratt]

horrific

[CrimsonWeltall]

What was the actual injury? A small puncture wound?

[Balta1701]

What was the actual injury? A small puncture wound?

Small but deep puncture wound a couple inches from the heart.

[Milkman delivers]

Small but deep puncture wound a couple inches from the heart.

 

A little much to call it impaling, no?

[CrimsonWeltall]

Small but deep puncture wound a couple inches from the heart.

 

Like, it actually got through the ribcage?

[Balta1701]

Like, it actually got through the ribcage?

It sure sounds like it.

[iamshack]

Actually, the real cause isn't about players or the MLB. American Ash is a species leaving this earth thanks to the Emerald Ash Borer. Maple was the most highly considered alternative.

 

Not to say they shouldn't continue trying to find ways to improve, but, people seem to have this odd idea that maple bats were some sort of MLB desire. They weren't.

I thought that maple caught on because Barry Bonds starting using them during those huge years in San Francisco?

 

I believe there have actually been tests that show that the ball does not come off a maple bat any harder or faster than bats of other types of wood.

 

This is purely an issue of the players insisting on using a product they believe gives them an advantage, when in reality, it does not.

[NorthSideSox72]

I thought that maple caught on because Barry Bonds starting using them during those huge years in San Francisco?

 

I believe there have actually been tests that show that the ball does not come off a maple bat any harder or faster than bats of other types of wood.

 

This is purely an issue of the players insisting on using a product they believe gives them an advantage, when in reality, it does not.

Purely? No, you can go Google it, there are tons of articles. Many players were using ash bats, but can't anymore, because ash can't really be used for much of anything more. I'm sure you are right to an extent, but there is also a business issue at work here that the players have zero control over.

 

I even remember an article a few years ago, I can't find it now, one of the players they asked about the disappearance of ash bats was Juan Uribe. His reaction was like a 5 year old after you took his candy away.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Ah, I found the Uribe quote article in NYT.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Here's a more recent article, which sort of highlights both sides of this issue. Hitters have been moving to maple bats by choice, but also, going back to ash bats may not be practical because of the borer beetle infestations and changing climate. So yes, as you say, its personal taste, but its also a problem of an alternative being taken away.

 

Here's one thing I really don't know - are woods other than maple or ash used in bats? And do they have better structural integrity than the maple?

 

[iamshack]

I was remembering this article, I think.

 

Ever since Barry Bonds started using them in 2001, the use of maple bats has been in the rise.

 

But, while players say that they can hit balls further with maple bats, as opposed to the traditional ash bat variety, that claim does not seem to stand up to scientific rigor, and worse, maple bats break with more regularity, thus creating a serious danger to players, coaches, and fans.

 

Here is Passan's article.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

I was remembering this article, I think.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is Passan's article.

 

I think the question should be, what can be done now? If maple is a problem, and ash isn't a practical alternative any more, then what IS a practical alternative? Maybe its not the wood, but the treatment or coating that needs to be addressed.