The first warning sign for Paul Byrd came in Oakland, during his first start of the season. He jammed a hitter well enough to saw the bat in half.
No big deal, except for the fact that the barrel of the bat was now a dagger - and was chasing the ball toward first baseman Ryan Garko.
"He made the play," Byrd recalled, "but I was thinking, 'Gosh, I'm glad he didn't get hurt on that one. That could've been dangerous.' "
And thus kicked off the debate that has divided baseball this year - maple vs. ash bats. Maple bats have injured an umpire, a hitting coach and a fan this year, yet major-league hitters continue to carry them to the plate for every at-bat.
Indians hitters almost all use maple exclusively, except for Garko, David Dellucci and Travis Hafner, who use both maple and ash, according to Tribe equipment manager Tony Amato. He estimated that about 80 percent of major-league hitters have made the switch to maple.
That doesn't sit well with Indians manager Eric Wedge, who is br......