Rick Helling Retires, But Not Due to Bat Shard…
While looking down the newswire, I came across a bit that normally wouldn’t draw my attention. Rick Helling, a journeyman pitcher who spent time with the Rangers, Marlins, Diamondbacks and Orioles, and most recently with the Brewers, has retired.
So why did I notice? Because last year, when I wrote an article calling for the regulation of maple bats in baseball, Helling was one of the players that had been hurt by a bat shard. In 2005, he was pitching for AAA level Nashville at the time, in the Brewers system.
“I saw a big part of the bat coming, like the barrel or something, I don’t know if there was more than one piece or not,’’ Helling said. “I tried to jump out of the way of it, but obviously I didn’t miss all of it. Then I remember looking down and seeing the bat sticking out of my arm and knowing that wasn’t normal.’’
A 15 inch piece of the bat had impaled itself 3 1/2 inches into his forearm. He was taken to a hospital where the bat was removed and he had stitches to close the puncture wound.
Also in 2005, current National League batting champ Freddy Sanchez was struck by a shard from a maple bat and had to get stitches.
I’d like to clarify that my original article may have sounded a bit harsh in calling for the banishment of maple bats from baseball. While I’m not so certain that an outright ban is the solution, I would like to see regulation of the types of maple that modern bats are made of. The diagonal grain pattern of some of these bats is highly conducive to shattering in a way that traditional ash bats do not.