the maple is breaking because its in higher demand and the wood is not getting enough time to dry out. the ashe not being high in demand is getting all its needed time to dry making it harder. another problem is that the players want a skinnier handle, which will make the bat still break even if it is ashe. when maple first came on the scene with guys like bonds his bats lasted forever, he hardly ever broke a bat. but he had a better eye than most and knew what pitches he could hit and which werent strikes that would and could break wood bats. the bats need thicker handles more time to dry out and the batters need to relize you cant hit every pitch like you can with metal. ...View More...View Less
07/24/2008 5:45 PM

Wood bats back in the early days were fat handle bats. The way bats are spun out now days are to meet the players needs. With the technology we have today it has made it easier for bat companies to cater to players wanting aluminum style, thin handle bats. If you remember back wood bats used to crack not shatter. Most of the incidents in question occur when a player takes a ball off the END of the bat not the handle. If you add another 1/2 inch in diameter to the handle I think you would get significantly less dangerous situations. you are going to get jagged breaks from bats that are broken when swinging at a pitch on the hands, but if you fatten the handle that would limit other, recentley more common, incidents. ...View More...View Less
07/24/2008 7:14 PM