Batter Up! (broadcast Friday, July 4th, 2008)

A tiny invasive beetle is on the march. It's moving into Pennsylvania, which is bad for baseball. Most ash baseball bats come from wood grown in the state. Sven-Erik Spichiger, an entomologist for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, is tracking the bug. (Credits: Filmed and Produced by Annette Heist, Flora Lichtman. Additional photography by David Cappaert, Michigan State University.) See More Videos

Major League Baseball has formed a committee to investigate the safety of bats made from maple wood. Traditionally, most major-league bats have been made from ash wood, but maple bats have been rising in popularity since the first MLB-approved maple bat was introduced in 1997. The maple bats have a problem, however -- when they break, they tend to do so spectacularly, shattering into hard, pointed shards. In this segment, we'll talk about the physics and materials that go into a regulation baseball bat, and about what can be done to improve bat safety in America's pastime. We'll also find out about a threat to the traditional ash bat -- the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that is threatening wood supplies. Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.