# Baseballs crush a skull? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 6, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007 "2012-04-06T16:09:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007/1 "2012-04-06T16:09:29Z")
Column: [Can a hard-hit baseball crush your skull (revisited)? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3045/can-a-hard-hit-baseball-crush-your-skull-revisited) Cecil talked extensively on injuries and probability, but surprisingly failed to answer the salient question, can a baseball crush a skull? I would think no. It might give someone a concussion, but I don’t think it’s going to fracture the cranium. There was also this: > [@](#): > > This led to another problem: when maple bats break they’re three times as likely as ash to shatter into large pieces, which can become dangerous projectiles. Nearly 25 bats get broken per game. 25 broken bats per game?! Seriously? That’s major fucked up. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007/2 "2012-04-06T16:31:06Z")
I’m kind of surprised Cecil didn’t mention the sad case of [Mike Coolbaugh](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Coolbaugh#Death), who was killed by a batted ball while coaching first base for the Tulsa Drillers in 2007. > [@](#): > > The impact pulverized Coolbaugh’s left vertebral artery, which severed the brain from the spinal cord. The result, according to Pulaski County Coroner Mark Malcolm, was a severe brain hemorrhage that essentially killed Coolbaugh on impact. While it didn’t crush his skull, this is a good example of the damage a fast-moving baseball can do. I find it easy to believe that a baseball could at least _fracture_ a skull, though there may be some debate over the definition of “crush.” Maybe some of our more science-minded Dopers will come along with some physics. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007/3 "2012-04-06T19:22:43Z")
Another recent serious injury: Altlanta Braves minor league manager [Luis Salazar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Salazar) was seriously hurt in 2011 spring training by a ball off the bat of all-star Brian McCann. They initially thought he was going to die but “only” lost an eye. I don’t think “crush” is all that inaccurate of a term to use for something like this. It’s the easily fractured bats used today that are really scary. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007/4 "2012-04-06T19:41:57Z")
As tragic as that situation is, Salazar received multiple _facial_ fractures, but sustained no damage to the brain. Despite not only the impact to the face from the baseball, but smacking the back of his head on the concrete floor of the dugout. That does not, to me, fit the concept of crushing his skull. > **[Braves coach has eye removed in third surgery](https://www.espn.com/mlb/spring2011/news/story?id=6223098)** > > Braves minor league manager Luis Salazar, who was hit in the face by a line drive last week, had his left eye removed Tuesday, general manager Frank Wren said Wednesday. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007/5 "2012-04-06T21:52:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Nearly 25 bats get broken per game. In 21st century North American Major League baseball? Where did that stat come from? I’ve searched for it, not yet successfully, on [mlb.com](http://mlb.com). There may many more broken bats than shattered bats. For shattered bats… Per the August 9, 2010, article “Fan sues over broken bat” on [http://sports.espn.go.com](http://sports.espn.go.com), [here](http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=5449775): > [@](#): > > The broken-bat rate has since dropped [in 2009-2010] from 1 per game to 0.55, the league says. See also “OnWisconsin” magazine, [http://onwisconsin.uwalumni.com](http://onwisconsin.uwalumni.com), [here](http://onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/departments/sports/bat-man/), from fall 2011: > [@](#): > > David Kretschmann ’84, MS’87 likes to see wood crack. “I break things for a living,” he says. Kretschmann is an engineer with the Forest Products Lab, a U.S. Department of Agriculture facility located on the UW campus…From an average of one per game in 2008, the number fell to .65 shattered bats per game by the end of the 2009 season, and to .55 by the end of 2010. In the first half of 2011, it reached .45. And, not to beef, “Welington” has only one “l” per [http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player\_id=456078#gameType=%27R%27](http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=456078#gameType=%27R%27). “Let’s play two!” said Ernie Banks, not a catcher. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007/6 "2012-04-06T22:57:22Z")
on august 7th 1982 a foul ball from dave stapleton hit jonathan keane (age 4). it fractured the left side of his skull. jim rice raced over grabbed jonathan, and rushed him into the clubhouse. jonathan was zipped to hospital, and operated on immediatly. he was in hospital for 5 days. jonathan was able to throw out the first pitch to open the 1983 season. > **[Garber: In an instant, Rice became a hero](https://www.espn.com/mlb/hof09/columns/story?columnist=garber_greg&id=4353486)** > > Looking back on his Hall of Fame career, Jim Rice points to a moment nearly 27 years ago when he simply did the right thing -- and may have saved a young boy's life in the process. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007/7 "2012-04-07T00:42:47Z")
I’m surprised that Cecil didn’t mention[Ray Chapman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Chapman), who was killed by a _pitched_ ball. Given that the [speed of the ball coming off the bat can be faster than the speed of a pitched ball](http://www.efastball.com/hitting/average-bat-speed-exit-speed-by-age-group/), I have no doubt that a batted ball can kill. But 25 broken bats per game? I ask the Cecil show his work. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007/8 "2012-04-07T03:50:53Z")
> [@from\_a\_to\_z](#): > > In 21st century North American Major League baseball? Where did that stat come from? I’ve searched for it, not yet successfully, on [mlb.com](http://mlb.com). There may many more broken bats than shattered bats. For shattered bats… Oh dear…Cecil’s original draft read “per game **day** ”, and somehow in the editing process the “day” was dropped. The citation is from page 523 of Westover, Matthew A. “The Breaking Point: Examining the Potential Liability of Maple Baseball Bat Manufacturers for Injuries Caused by Broken Maple Baseball Bats” _Penn State Law Review_ 115.2 (2010): 517-537. It will be fixed very shortly. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2012, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007/9 "2012-04-07T09:59:29Z")
Thank you **Una**. As for the breaks, there is a cricket-bat coating called “Extratec” (see for example [http://www.cricketcentre.com.au/site/pages/BatInfo.php](http://www.cricketcentre.com.au/site/pages/BatInfo.php) or [http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2010/9/20/1699415/cubs-tyler-colvin-maple-bat](http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2010/9/20/1699415/cubs-tyler-colvin-maple-bat)) to keep the bats from splintering or breaking. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007/10 "2013-04-11T19:40:04Z")
High schooler just killed in a game (which I’d never heard of before) similar to softball: [Taylor Dorman Dies When Ball Hits Him In Chest In PE Class On 16th Birthday | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/taylor-dorman-dies-on-16th-birthday_n_3062497.html) ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseballs-crush-a-skull/618007/11 "2013-04-12T17:42:11Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > High schooler just killed in a game (which I’d never heard of before) similar to softball: [Taylor Dorman Dies When Ball Hits Him In Chest In PE Class On 16th Birthday | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/taylor-dorman-dies-on-16th-birthday_n_3062497.html) He did not die from blunt trauma; this is likely that rare but sadly not unheard of condition in which a sharp impact to the chest at precisely the wrong moment can interrupt the heart rhythm and result in death. A 20-minute delay strikes me as unusual, but I’d bet money that’s what this is. It happens most often to lacrosse players, I believe. Powers &8^]