[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

Trump Admin To BAN Pride Rainbow Crosswalks, DoT Orders ALL Distractions REMOVED

Elon Musk Backing Thomas Massie Against Trump-AIPAC Challenger

Skateboarding Dog

Israel's Plans for Jordan

Daily Vitamin D Supplementation Slows Cellular Aging:

Hepatitis E Virus in Pork

Hospital Executives Arrested After Nurse Convicted of Killing Seven Newborns, Trying to Kill Eight More

The Explosion of Jewish Fatigue Syndrome

Tucker Carlson: RFK Jr's Mission to End Skyrocketing Autism, Declassifying Kennedy Files

Israel has killed 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7, 2023

100m Americans live in areas with cancer-causing 'forever chemicals' in their water

Scientists discover cancer-fighting bacteria that "soak up" forever chemicals in the body

Israel limits entry of baby formula in Gaza as infants die of hunger

17 Ways mRNA Shots May CAUSE CANCER, According to Over 100 STUDIES

Report: Pentagon Halts Some Munitions Shipments To Ukraine Over Concerns That US Stockpiles Are Too Low

Locals Fear Demolitions as Israeli Troops Set Up New Base in Syrias Quneitra

Russian forces discover cache of Ukrainian chemical drone munitions FSB

Clarissa Ward: Gaza is what is turning people overseas against the US

What Parents Wish Their Children Could Grow Up Without

WHY SO MANY FOREIGN BASES IN AFRICA?

Trump called Candace Owens about Brigitte Macron's P*NIS?

New Mexico Is The Most-Dependent State On The Federal Govt, New Jersey The Least

"This Is The Next Level": AI-Powered "Digital Workers" Deployed At Major Bank To Work Alongside Humans

Cash Jordan: ICE Raids Taco Trucks... Deports 'Entire Parking Lot' of Migrants

Jaguar Went Woke & The Results Were Catastrophic

Trump Threatens To DEPORT ELON MUSK Over Big Beautiful Bill Feud, Elon NEVER Wanted EV Mandates

If Trump Cared About Israel, He would Stop the Genocide

Why do you think Henry Ford was such a hardcore Antisemite?

In Case you miss Bad Journalism

Bobby K Jr was Exiled For Saying This:


Sports
See other Sports Articles

Title: Rate of Shattered Baseball Bats 50 Percent Less, Thanks to Major League Baseball and the U.S. Forest Service
Source: North Texas e-News
URL Source: http://www.ntxe-news.com/artman/publish/article_84131.shtml
Published: Jul 28, 2013
Author: USDA PR
Post Date: 2013-07-28 13:52:12 by X-15
Keywords: None
Views: 255
Comments: 2

WASHINGTON - As the 2013 Major League Baseball (MLB) season slides past the All-Star break, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the results of innovative research by the U.S. Forest Service, and funded by MLB, that will result in significantly fewer shattered baseball bats. "This innovative research by the U.S. Forest Service will make baseball games safer for players and fans across the nation," said Secretary Vilsack. "The U.S. Forest Products Laboratory has once again demonstrated that we can improve uses for wood products across our nation in practical ways – making advancements that can improve quality of life and grow our economy."

Testing and analyzing thousands of shattered Major League bats, U.S. Forest Service researchers at the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) developed changes in manufacturing that decreased the rate of shattered maple bats by more than 50 percent since 2008. While the popularity of maple bats is greater today than ever before, the number of shattered bats continues to decline.

"Since 2008, the U.S. Forest Service has worked with Major League Baseball to help make America's pastime safer," said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. "I'm proud that our collective 'wood grain trust' has made recommendations resulting in a significant drop in shattered bats, making the game safer for players as well as for fans."

"These results would not have been possible without the outstanding work of the Forest Products Laboratory and the tireless efforts of its project coordinator, David Kretschmann," says Daniel Halem, MLB's Senior Vice President of Labor Relations. "Major League Baseball greatly appreciates the invaluable contributions of the Forest Products Laboratory and Mr. Kretschmann on this important issue."

The joint Safety and Health Advisory Committee of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association began working to address the frequency of bats breaking into multiple pieces five years ago. FPL wood experts looked at every broken Major League bat from July to September during the 2008 MLB season.

The research team found that inconsistency of wood quality, primarily the manufacturing detail "slope of grain," for all species of wood used in Major League bat manufacture was the main cause of broken bats. Also, low-density maple bats were found to not only crack but shatter into multiple pieces more often than ash bats or higher-density maple bats. Called multiple-piece failure, shattered bats can pose a danger on the field and in the stands.

Slope of grain refers to the straightness of the wood grain along the length of a bat. Straighter grain lengthwise means less likelihood for breakage.

With the help of TECO, a third-party wood inspection service, the FPL team established manufacturing changes that have proven remarkably successful over time. Limits to bat geometry dimensions, wood density restrictions, and wood drying recommendations have all contributed to the dramatic decrease in multiple-piece failures, even as maple's popularity is on the upswing.

The Forest Service research team has been watching video and recording details of every bat breakage since 2009. The team will continue monitoring daily video and studying broken bats collected during two two-week periods of the 2013 season, working to further reduce the use of low-density maple bats and the overall number of multiple-piece failures.

The mission of the U.S. Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation's clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The agency has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

#1. To: X-15 (#0)

Slope of grain refers to the straightness of the wood grain along the length of a bat. Straighter grain lengthwise means less likelihood for breakage.

Interesting stuff. Thanks for posting it.

Fred Mertz  posted on  2013-07-28   14:03:48 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: X-15 (#0)

"Straighter grain lengthwise means less likelihood for breakage."

Any woodworker could tell you that, so the bat manufacturers already knew it. At best, these tests could only have reinforced what they already knew.

So, were these tests "funded by Major League Baseball," or a "contribution of the Forest Products Lab"?

There's a clue if I ever saw one.

This study probably cost the US taxpayers plenty, and all it will do is save 5 trees a year --- probably in China.

Big Meanie  posted on  2013-07-28   15:49:31 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest


[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]