mlb

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. Photo Courtesy of MLB Advanced Media.

Play Ball! Forest Service Research Cracks Major League Baseball Problem

Rate of shattered maple bats down 50 percent.

In 2008, Major League Baseball (MLB) came to the U.S. Forest Service, asking our Forest Products Laboratory to investigate why baseball bats were increasingly shattering into multiple pieces on contact.

The Forest Service team, led by David Kretschmann, dug in, swung for the fences and scored big time!

James Spartz, Forest Products Laboratory, USDA Forest Service Posted in Forestry Research and Science

Jul 15, 2013

17 Responses

U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell throws out the first pitch at a Potomac Nationals game to publicize the Forest Service’s “Break a Bat/Plant a Tree” partnership. U.S. Forest Service photo.

Forest Service Chief Pitches in to Help Plant Trees

Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell recently threw out the first pitch at a Potomac Nationals baseball game during their Forest Service Night Out in Woodbridge, Va.

The event publicized the Break a Bat/Plant a Tree partnership between the Potomac Nationals—a Class A Advanced Affiliate of the Washington Nationals—and the Forest Service.

The agreement calls for a tree to be planted on the George Washington-Jefferson National Forest for each bat broken during Potomac Nationals home games. Through the first 17 home games this season, 18 bats have been broken at Pfitzner Stadium – a pace that could mean 80 trees planted after the season.

Thiery Curtis, Office of Communication, U.S. Forest Service Posted in Forestry

May 29, 2012

2 Responses