Shattered, shattered
One of the most-often asked questions at the ballpark these days: Why so many broken bats this season?
It seems there is at least a half dozen shattered bats each game. Some Wild Things fans have gone as far as calling the team's offices and asking for an explanation to the bat problems. What did these people expect to hear? "The problem, sir, is we've decided to save money by hitting with balsa-wood bats."
Is there really a problem with the bats this year? Is the number of broken bats on the rise? It depends on who you ask. Outfielder Chris Sidick said he has already broken 24 bats. He broke fewer than a dozen last season. Manager John Massarelli, when asked about the bats, at first said there is no significant difference between the number of broken bats this season and in past years. Then, he changed his mind and offered this:
"One of the problems I see is, the players today want the bats so light that the handles have to be made too thin. A guy hits a pitch off the fist and the bat shatters. When I played, I got three dozen bats during spring training and had about a dozen left over at the end a 152-game season."
Maybe the Wild Things' bat supplier simply had a bad batch of lumber this year? Belive it or not, there is an official bat company of the Wild Things, or so the Phoenix Bat Company of Hilliard Ohio, makes the claim on its Web site. It's also the official bat supplier of the Class AAA Columbus Clippers. A Google search finds nothing but excellent reviews of Phoenix bats.
Even with an official bat supplier, a check of the bats used by the Wild Things reveals all types of brand names. First baseman Nathan Messner broke three bats Monday night and two were Louisville Sluggers.
It seems there is at least a half dozen shattered bats each game. Some Wild Things fans have gone as far as calling the team's offices and asking for an explanation to the bat problems. What did these people expect to hear? "The problem, sir, is we've decided to save money by hitting with balsa-wood bats."
Is there really a problem with the bats this year? Is the number of broken bats on the rise? It depends on who you ask. Outfielder Chris Sidick said he has already broken 24 bats. He broke fewer than a dozen last season. Manager John Massarelli, when asked about the bats, at first said there is no significant difference between the number of broken bats this season and in past years. Then, he changed his mind and offered this:
"One of the problems I see is, the players today want the bats so light that the handles have to be made too thin. A guy hits a pitch off the fist and the bat shatters. When I played, I got three dozen bats during spring training and had about a dozen left over at the end a 152-game season."
Maybe the Wild Things' bat supplier simply had a bad batch of lumber this year? Belive it or not, there is an official bat company of the Wild Things, or so the Phoenix Bat Company of Hilliard Ohio, makes the claim on its Web site. It's also the official bat supplier of the Class AAA Columbus Clippers. A Google search finds nothing but excellent reviews of Phoenix bats.
Even with an official bat supplier, a check of the bats used by the Wild Things reveals all types of brand names. First baseman Nathan Messner broke three bats Monday night and two were Louisville Sluggers.
posted by Chris Dugan at
2:48 PM
1 Comments:
Speaking of Chris Sidick, has anyone else noticed his foul mouth?
He dropped the "F" bomb twice recently when he grounded out. It was clearly heard by everyone near the first base dugout and not the first time this has happened.
A poor example of sportsmanship and an even worse thing for children to hear. Time to reign it in a bit Chris!!
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