Fox Sports: Cubs player hit by shard from broken bat

MIAMI (AP)

Cubs rookie Tyler Colvin was hospitalized Sunday after his chest was punctured by part of a shattered bat.

Colvin was standing on third base in the second inning of Chicago's 13-3 victory at Florida when he was struck by a sliver of Welington Castillo's maple bat. Castillo doubled on the play and Colvin scored, but was replaced in the field in the bottom half.

This is just too scary.

By the grace of God, the kid is OK and is expected to recover, but this incident raises an important question, one that's been ignored for too long; Are maple bats safe?

I think it's become quite obvious that they are not.  Maple bats break into huge chunks that when they hit someone have the potential to kill, as so demonstrated by Colvin's injury.  In the past, the MLB used bats made from ash wood, which is lighter and breaks into tiny splinters that are not as dangerous.

Granted, any type of flying projectile is dangerous, but the question is, what is safer for players?  The answer to that question is for the MLB to go back to it's previous practice of using ash bats and phase out the use of maple bats.

Prayers will be said for Colvin and his family as he recovers.