Baseball's minor league players will no longer be able to use bats made from maple following new rules implemented by Major League Baseball.
The new regulations will ban the use of ultra-light maple which is used in bats that have big barrels and small handles. The big barrel and thin handle allow batters to swing the bat with greater speed but due to the low density of the wood and the thin handle maple bats are prone to breaking and shattering across the field.
Red maple and silver maple will be completely eliminated by the 30-plus companies approved to make bats.
The ban applies to players who are not on 40-man rosters and have no major league experience. This is not the first time Major League Baseball has tested new rules on the minor leagues.
Recently it implemented drug testing in the minors and introduced a 50-game suspension for failing a test. And just the other week MLB was discussing the implementation of testing for HGH.
This year any major league player whose bat broke at least 10 times last year must consult with a panel of MLB and union bat experts to determine if there is some extenuating problem.
The specifications for all bats have also been changed. The maximum diameter of the barrel will decrease from 2.75 inches, a standard used for more than 100 years, to 2.61 inches. The minimum size of bat handles is being increased by about 1-50th of an inch.
The moves have not proved popular with some players. Cleveland Indians utility player Chris Gimenez thinks players will have a tough time adjusting to the rules.
"I think they'll have a tough time with that, I don't see how that's going to work. To me, it would be like they're telling you that you can't use a third base glove anymore because it's 12 inches and not eight inches. I don't know how that will go over with a lot of guys,” Gimenez said.
"Say I break a bat and I've never been in the big leagues and the guy on deck has been in the big leagues. He hands me his. I hit a home run with it. Are they going to take that away from me? I'm probably getting tossed out of that game if they try to do that,” Gimenez added.
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