There seems to be a lot more shattered bats during a major league baseball game these days. I’ve heard the talk that the newer maple bats tend to shatter, while the ash just split. A news article I just read discusses this ‘new’ event in major league games.
I understand why they don’t use aluminum/metal bats in the major leagues. If you ever saw a ball jump off of the new metal bats in college ball, or even the local softball leagues, you can guess why you wouldn’t want one of those in the hands of a major league hitter. The pitcher would have to be 90 feet away just to be safe. I am wondering if some sort of material could be designed for baseball bats. Keep the elasticity (bounce of ball of the bat) the same as current wood bats, but have it much stronger to prevent splitting.
With the problems with Ash borers in the midwest (Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and maybe Pennsylvania), there may be a supply problem with Ash baseball bats in the future anyway. I think they may need to do something, before more people get hurt sitting in the stands.