Major League Baseball had a major league problem back in 2008: Baseball bats increasingly were shattering in multiple pieces on contact and posing risks to players and fans. A Chicago Cubs player had to be hospitalized after a splinter from a broken bat pierced his chest.

MLB turned to the U.S. Forest Service for help. A team from the Forest Products Laboratory led by research engineer David Kretschmann tested thousands of shattered bats, including examined every broken bat from July to September during the 2008 MLB season.

The researchers pinpointed the main culprit as the inconsistency of the wood’s quality – primarily the “slope of grain,” or straightness of the wood grain along the length of the bat. Straighter grain lengthwise means stronger bats. In addition, low density maple bats were found to not only crack but to shatter into multiple pieces, posing a danger to players and fans alike.

Kretschmann’s research, which was fully funded by MLB and included watching videos and recording the details of every bat breakage since 2009, has led to major improvements in the manufacturing of bats and made the nation’s pastime safer. Limits to bat geometry dimensions, wood density restrictions, and wood drying recommendations have all contributed to a dramatic decrease in broken bats, even as maple’s popularity has grown. The rate of shattered maple bats fell by more than half between 2008 and 2013.

Read the July 2013 Forest Service article HERE.

Filed under: Special Features

Tags: baseball bat, Engineering Design, Forest Products Laboratory, Major League Baseball, research engineer, U.S. Forest Service, wood