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.

One thing that could be done is to impose a minimum threshold for the diameter of the handle. Of course, this would add weight to the bat, which the players would not view as a good compromise.

 

 

I was remembering this article, I think.

 

 

Here is Passan's article.

It wasnt the bats that let him hit balls farther.....

Near death experiences at the hand of a shattered bat in the month of August in Major League baseball: 2.

 

Cliff Lee was only slightly wounded...but the dude was hit in the back of the ear by a shattered piece of Jack Cust's bat last night.

n the fourth inning Jack Cust singled up the middle to drive in the first run of the game and his bat broke into three pieces, the smallest of which struck Lee in the left ear.

 

Lee seemed completely unfazed at first, focusing instead on the run he just allowed and the fact that the barrel of the bat flew over his head, but then noticed that his ear was bleeding. Pitching coach Mike Maddux came out to the mound, looked at the ear and told Lee something along the lines of "yep, it's bleeding," and then manager Ron Washington and the trainer hopped out of the dugout to take a look..

Yeah, I may be exaggerating by calling it near death...but the dude got hit in the head. If he hadn't turned to look where the ball went, that shard could have taken out an eye or worse.