04/19/24
July 11, 2007
Balmy Weather May Bench a Baseball Staple: Damn those Emerald Ash Borers!
posted by tommytrump to baseball at 11:40 AM - 14 comments
We use ash for hurls, and since the 90's there has been shortage of ash in Ireland so we've been importing from all over Europe, around 3/4 of the ash comes from abroad, but there are also grants available for growing ash to meet the demand.
posted by Fence at 12:42 PM on July 11, 2007
This can't be good.You would think science could solve this problem. Ash has been the bat wood for ever.I wonder if sugar maple can replace it.I hope we never find out.
posted by sickleguy at 12:44 PM on July 11, 2007
You would think science could solve this problem. How on earth can science solve the problem of invasive species? This isn't a new problem, you know, nor one specific to the ash. Ash has been the bat wood for ever.I wonder if sugar maple can replace it. Not if the Asian hornbacked beetle has its way.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:13 PM on July 11, 2007
I'm rushing on over to grab some aluminum futures right now. Look out, third basemen! Some of the most fun I've ever had covering a sporting event was an annual high-school tournament held in southern Illinois. It was a wooden bat event, and watching kids who thought they were home-run champs hit with wood was a real eye-opener for them. I hope there's some solution to this problem, because I'd hate to think that tourney and the annual Cape Cod League would disappear. And now, FTA, this sentence: Some widely suspect that the well-known players get the best-quality wood, and the rookies, something softer. Am I nuts, or it that just a horrible sentence? The "that" is unnecessary, and how do some "widely suspect"? I'd think "many" might widely suspect, but some would just suspect.
posted by wfrazerjr at 01:20 PM on July 11, 2007
MLB likes their players to use bats that are made out of one whole piece of wood. If the MLB suits can wake up, maybe they could take a look at using bamboo bats instead and maybe that can help if there's a lack of ash wood to be used for making MLB bats.
posted by BornIcon at 01:31 PM on July 11, 2007
Am I nuts, or it that just a horrible sentence? I dunno if it's horrible, but it turned me on a bit. Sounds like baseball ran Raffy Palmeiro and other Viagra poppin' veterans out of the league . . . prematurely.
posted by yerfatma at 01:59 PM on July 11, 2007
Bamboo? How about a Vampire Bat! All New: GrammarFilter! Wouldn't the rookies would have an easier time getting better wood than the older players? I remember Raffy Palmeiro, that old softy.
posted by tommybiden at 02:17 PM on July 11, 2007
I'm not sure, Fraze. I don't see anything incorrect about the sentence. Older players should, by all rights have better quality wood than, say, rookies. Why, I myself had to wait a few years before my wood was of any quality. After that, my stroke drove in the long ball.
posted by THX-1138 at 02:30 PM on July 11, 2007
From what I've heard of the Ash Borer it doesn't kill healthy ash trees but if it's an exceptionally dry year and the trees are weak it can kill them. Elm trees were almost completely wiped out about 50 years ago. You'll still find some but they have to be out in the open. I just wonder if ash are going to be the same way or if advances in science can save the ash. I can't imagine what the side effects are going to be to releasing thousands of wasps, even if they don't sting. I've think Maple bats are far superior anyway, at least as far as durability is concerned.
posted by tron7 at 03:43 PM on July 11, 2007
Some widely suspect that the well-known players get the best-quality wood, and the rookies, something softer. The sentence ought to read, "There is a widely held suspicion that the well-known..." That makes it a lot clearer. So do I pass English Composition 101? On maple vs ash, I believe that maple has a more dense grain structure, and that the same size bat made of ash would be lighter. Those who use the maple bat believe that the wood is harder, and more energy is thus transferred to the ball, rather than being wasted in compressing the bat.
posted by Howard_T at 04:40 PM on July 11, 2007
The sentence ought to read, "There is a widely held suspicion that the well-known..." That makes it a lot clearer. So do I pass English Composition 101? And Softcore Porn 102. On maple vs ash, I believe that maple has a more dense grain structure, and that the same size bat made of ash would be lighter. Those who use the maple bat believe that the wood is harder, and more energy is thus transferred to the ball, rather than being wasted in compressing the bat. I don't know if anyone's ever tried it in a baseball bat, but jodo -- Japanese martial art using a short staff -- the preferred type of wood is white oak. It's incredibly tough and springy. I have a white oak jo that's taken some almighty smacks and only shows these minor dents, no structural weaknesses.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:36 PM on July 11, 2007
I've think Maple bats are far superior anyway, at least as far as durability is concerned. Barry Bonds switched to a maple bat. In 2001. I wonder if it did him any good...
posted by grum@work at 12:37 AM on July 12, 2007
In case anyone was wondering, cricket bats probably take an equivalent beating, and are almost always made from willow. Originally English, but Pakistani these days.
posted by owlhouse at 03:23 AM on July 12, 2007
Thanks for this story, tommytrump. I had no idea this was becoming a problem, and the Larimer & Norton factory is a place I go by a few times a week (I golf at a course a quarter mile up the road). It's coincidental this story comes out now, because there seemed to be a lot of bats flying apart during last night's All-Star game. Whether it's a problem with the materials due to this beetle problem, or just pitchers sawing batters off inside, the bats were shattering all over the field.