The subject is bats.

Oh no, not the ones that live in the neighborhood belfry. These bats are the ones which are swung by major league baseball players in the big leagues. Problem is, lots of them are breaking – especially the ones made from maple.

The traditional ash bats serve the safety of the participants better, but a tightly-wound lighter maple bat seems to absorb the contact with a ball better – when hit properly – and produces the best results for the hitter and his team.

If you follow all this stuff, then you no doubt have witnessed all the flying wood and the dangers which result.

According to MLB.com, there have been some serious injuries recently from flying wood – maple – in professional parks. On April 15, Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach Don Long was struck with a piece of bat below the eye, which required 10 stitches.

It gets worse.

A short time later, plate umpire Brian O’Nora was hit in the forehead by the barrel of a bat – again, a maple one – and had to leave the game.

Fans have not dodged the bullet, er, bat, either.

Recently, a fan at Dodger Stadium was struck by one of these maple missiles, which shattered her jaw.

According to Houston Astros first baseman Lance Berkman, “When a maple bat dies, it’s a spectacular occurrence, whereas an ash bat slips gently into the good night.”

The Safety and Health committee of Major League Baseball is addressing this maple versus ash dilemma by addressing the specific problem of breakage by consulting with manufacturers and experts, and conducting field studies, with the obvious objective of protecting people.

One suggestion coming from these early discussions involves placing more netting around the areas of the stands that have received the most broken bat attention.

Back in my sandlot days in the 1950s and the early 1960s, we used ash bats. You always knew when those were about to give. The difference? Small nails and tape could do the trick, and we never gave it another thought.

The obvious solution to the current problem would be to outlaw maple and stick with the traditional ash.

According to Berkman, who uses maple bats for batting practice only, the outlawing of maple would quickly diminish the ash supply.

Talk radio this week has included the suggestion of metal bats as a replacement. Personally, I hope those lethal weapons never reach the major league level. Why, you’re asking?

It’s simple, really. A metal bat in the hands of a physical specimen at the plate, making contact with a pitch thrown 95 miles per hour, could be much more deadly than anything in current use.

Obviously, baseball officials must continue to explore options in their quest for safety of all participants.

Ruling out metal bats – obviously – and looking into the possibility of using more ash bats to replace the quirky maple ones, are good places to start.

Only time will tell what solution, if any, will be found. If Major League Baseball moves as quickly on this most recent problem, or as quickly as they did on the steroid issue, fans should bring gloves and wear helmets to baseball games around the league.

30-Second Time Out

Congratulations to the Corinth Blue team for its recent 6-4 victory over the Corinth Green team, which gave these youngsters the 2008 Central Penobscot Little League Championship.

Pitchers Bryce Tompkins and Hunter Campbell paved the way, while Wyatt Campbell and Ben Shearstone had key hits. Ben Shearstone ended the game with a nifty catch, resulting in a game-ending double play.

Winning Coach Graham Shearstone would like to thank his assistants Pat Haney and Al Tompkins.

Joe Stefanik coached the Corinth Green team, which was paced by the steady play of Riley Stefanik.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net