Fun Fact

I was listening to parts of the Tigers exhibition game yesterday vs. the Blue Jays on the radio.  A very interesting bit of trivia was discussed between Dan and Jim.  They were talking about maple bats at first--the issue of them shattering explosively and dangerously.  Apparently the trademark has been rotated on the bats, supposedly  making them less likely to shatter in such a way that puts people in peril.  Not quite sure I understood how that's supposed to work.  Anyway, they then moved on to players' bat selection.

Not sure who said it, but apparently Carlos Guillen tests every bat in each shipment by sounding and feeling them out with a bang against his hand.  He keeps only about THREE OF EVERY TWELVE BATS.  That amazed me.  Only 25% of bats make the cut?  I wonder what happens to the remaining 75%.  Do they go to the minor leagues?  Or does the company take them back and shred them?  Or is there an island of misfit bats somewhere, with despairing bats waiting to be selected for use in a real game?  Poor little bats.

Anyway, I thought it was a fun fact worth sharing.