NEW YORK (AP) -Cal Ripken and Harold Reynolds don’t think maple is at the root of the broken-bat epidemic.
“I think they might be making a little bit too much out of it,” Ripken said Tuesday.
Speaking on a conference call to promote TBS’ coverage of the All-Star selection show Sunday, Reynolds said the current bat models have more to do with shattered bats than the ash vs. maple issue.
“They don’t use as thick a handle anymore and the bats are a lot lighter. … The head of the bat is a lot bigger, and it’s going to break,” Reynolds said. “I don’t think it’s maple or whatever substance they might be using to make the bat. I think its more in the design that the players are using now.”
A management-union committee is investigating the bat issue. Maple bats can’t be banned without the union’s agreement.
“Maple bats are a little harder. They do break. When they do break, pieces fly all over the place,” Ripken said. “I can’t imagine it being any more than it was, you know, when I played.”
Dennis Eckersley, a Hall of Fame reliever and six-time All-Star, wouldn’t express a preference for ash vs. maple.
“As long as they don’t use aluminum, I’m fine with it,” he said.
Reynolds was fired by ESPN in 2006 and sued, claiming he was wrongly terminated after a female intern complained about what he called a “brief and innocuous” hug. A settlement was announced this April.
“I just felt like I had to do what I needed to do, and that was to stand up, you know, clear my name and move forward,” Reynolds said. “Obviously, it’s working out real nice for me.”
Jeff Behnke, Turner Sports’ executive producer, said the network is interested in using Reynolds for its postseason coverage. TBS also may bring back Tony Gwynn.
Among the players who figures to be at the July 15 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium is Boston left fielder Manny Ramirez. The Providence Journal reported Monday that Ramirez pushed traveling secretary Jack McCormick in the visitors’ clubhouse Saturday in Houston in a dispute over a ticket request.
Ramirez said Monday he spoke with McCormick and “everything is fine.”
“He has addressed it, but I think he needs to do more than that,” Eckersley said. “Manny being Manny is one thing, but this recent thing doesn’t look good at all.”
Ripken, a 19-time All-Star during a career that earned him Hall of Fame induction, didn’t want to leap to a conclusion.
“When you play with people every single day and you go on the road, people are in bad moods, they’re in good moods and every once in a while tempers will flare for the dumbest sort of reasons,” Ripken said. “And so this could quite possibly be for the dumbest reason.”
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