Could the MLB be moving toward an outright ban on maple baseball bats?

The MLB’s recent decision to ban ultra-light maple baseball bats in the minor leagues has set off some speculation.

Should we expect an outright ban on maple bats soon?

It’s way too early to tell. However, the MLB’s decision to prohibit soft red maple and silver maple bats in Minor League Baseball shows that the league is taking the safety concern seriously.

The concern stems from how the bats break. They have been shown to shatter violently, spraying shards of wood throughout the infield.

It’s especially hazardous for pitchers.

In a spring training game last week, Rays pitcher David Prince managed to escape a broken bat with only a cut on his hand. Adrian Beltre’s maple bat shattered on a pitch and sent a chunk of wood straight for his head, but Prince moved out of the way.

The incident left Rays manager Joe Maddon incensed.

“Someday, somebody is going to get killed or impaled,” Maddon told the Associated Press. “David was fortunate today.”

The MLB has been studying the controversy surrounding maple bats since the end of the 2008 season, and it instituted new quality guidelines on maple bats last season, which brought down the incidences of cracked bats.

But still, the shattering problem persists.

The MLB has been known to test rule changes in the minor leagues, because they do not have to be approved by the players’ union. For the moment, the new regulations apply only to the minor leagues and players that have not been called up to the majors.

As part of the rule change, any major leaguer whose bat broke at least 10 times last year must consult with a panel of bat experts to determine if there is some extenuating problem.

Could the ban extend to other types of maple and into the big leagues?

No telling. That will depend on how effective the current ban is.

Related: Browse our selection of wooden baseball bats.

Last day to save 25% off closeout baseball gear; give us a tweet

Today is the last day to save an absurd, mind-blowingly high 25% off our already discounted closeout baseball merchandise.

Just enter the coupon code JGEADJ2 at checkout to save some cash.

The deal ends TODAY.

Use the coupon code on anything in the Last Chance Blowout Sale and the Discount Dugout. Check out Sunday’s blog below for a few suggestions.

While you’re checking out the deals we’ve got going in our closeout sections, make sure to drop by and send us a tweet @BB_Express. We asked a trivia question last week about the Montgomery Biscuits of the Double-A Southern League.

To recap:

Our favorite club is the Montgomery Biscuits. Yup, “biscuits” as in the food. Based out of Montgomery, Ala., the Biscuits are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, and they certainly make us the hungriest out of all of the teams in the Southern League.

During games — and this is no joke — team representatives shoot biscuits into the stands with air cannons.

That brings us to the Twitter twivia question for Thursday, a weekly feature we’d like to implement at the Baseball Express blog. For now, the prize for getting the question right is pride (the greatest prize of all), but we might implement a prize system once we start getting some responses.

Tweet your answer to @BB_Express on Twitter.

This week’s question is: What is the name of the Montgomery Biscuits’ mascot?

Related: Follow the Team Express family of brands at Twitter @Team_Express.

Baseball Express is the Internet’s premier retailer of baseball equipment, footwear and apparel.

Twitter twivia question for Thursday

Take a look over on the right column of our blog, and you’ll see that we’re on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. Connect with us to get in on special deals and coupons that aren’t available anywhere else on the Internet.

Follow us on Twitter @BB_Express, where we’re tweeting harder than a songbird after a visit to Roger Clemens’ physician.

You’ll notice that we’re following just about every professional baseball team out there, including a slew of Minor League clubs (unfortunately the Mexican League teams don’t look like they’re connected).

Our favorite club is the Montgomery Biscuits. Yup, “biscuits” as in the food. Based out of Montgomery, Ala., the Biscuits are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, and they certainly make us the hungriest out of all of the teams in the Southern League.

During games — and this is no joke — team representatives shoot biscuits into the stands with air cannons.

That brings us to the Twitter twivia question for Thursday, a weekly feature we’d like to implement at the Baseball Express blog. For now, the prize for getting the question right is pride (the greatest prize of all), but we might implement a prize system once we start getting some responses.

Tweet your answer to @BB_Express on Twitter.

This week’s question is: What is the name of the Montgomery Biscuits’ mascot?

We’ll reveal the answer here and on Twitter next week. We’ll also list the names of the fine baseball historians/trivia masters who got it right.

Minor leagues to transition to tougher helmets

Minor League Baseball will adopt a thicker, heavily-padded helmet next season.

The Rawlings S100 batting helmet will be mandatory for all players in the Minor leagues in the 2010 season, officials announced this week. As well, all 30 Major League teams will each receive a handful of the helmets to test throughout the remainder of this season.

Extensively tested over the last four years, the helmets have been shown to withstand pitches of up to 100 mph.

“Many of today’s pitchers consistently hit the radar at 90-plus, so safety is at an all-time premium,” Rawlings VP Mike Thompson said. “The S100 helmet … will answer that need at all levels of baseball.”

The helmet is constructed of four layers. Inside the shell and a composite insert, there is an expanded Polypropylene liner covered with moisture-wicking foam for comfort. Polypropylene is a hard plastic used in construction and bicycle helmets.

While the extra padding will provide extra safety for batters when they step in the box, some haven’t adjusted well to the new helmets.

“It felt like my own bobblehead day today,” Chicago pitcher Ryan Dempster said to ESPN after wearing the helmet in an 11-4 win over the Mets. “I have a big enough head as it is. They could probably see that from the top of the Sears Tower.”

For the time being, Major Leaguers will have a choice whether to wear the S100 or not. For baseball’s up-and-comers, it will be mandatory, starting with the Arizona Fall League later this year.

Related: See our selection of Rawlings baseball helmets.