Bugs Put Ash Bat's Future in Jeopardy

Baseball bats have been manufactured with white ash for as long as most baseball fans can remember. It is easily the most ideal wood to be used, because it cracks when it breaks instead of shattering. See the inset picture for an illustration. Evan Longoria, left, is tapping his ash bat on the ground to see if it's been cracked or not. In the other photo, Chase Utley's maple bat is shattering -- which often sends sharp and jagged pieces flying dangerously into the playing field, or, worse, the crowd.

Over the past few seasons, baseball has been doing extensive research on these maple bats, but now a new bat issue has emerged. Ash trees could be in serious danger (via Men's Journal) in North America.

The emerald ash borer, an Asian beetle, has been killing millions of ash trees throughout the midwest since 2002, and experts are saying the problem will wipe out ash trees in North America within the next 30 years.

Louisville Slugger, the predominant bat manufacturer in America who also makes Major League Baseball's official bats, has a cause for concern. For now, though, they remain optimistic, according to vice president Rick Redman.

"We've been harvesting wood for over 100 years," says Redman. "We've survived floods, fires, and a lot of other issues. Now we're trying to survive insects."

Let's hope they get something figured out. The bat problem doesn't seem too dramatic now, but it really seems like it's only a matter of time until someone is impaled by a flying shattered maple bat. Ash is clearly the best wood for making bats.

The good news is: Louisville Slugger is currently using trees in Pennsylvania -- which hasn't yet been infested by the mighty ash borer -- and they have 30 years to dream up an alternative that is safer than maple.