[KC Burke]

Can you tell us that haven’t followed this contraversy what is the difference between maple and the more traditional ash?

[Notoriously Conservative]

Maple is a harder wood, so hitters like them more. But, they also tend to splinter on impact, sending sharp shards flying, often causing injury.

[ClearCase_guy]

Can you tell us that haven’t followed this contraversy what is the difference between maple and the more traditional ash?

One of them is made of maple. And the other one isn't.

[SnakeDoctor]

Rather than splintering, maple bats are a harder wood and tend to break like this ...

... which is supposedly more dangerous to players in the field.

SnakeDoc

[Vigilanteman]

The traditional ash and even hickory bats tend to break cleanly-- 2 or even 3 pieces. When I was a boy, we could even glue and ash back together and give it a second life if the break was clean enough.

Maple bats not only splinter and fly off in a more unpredictable manner, but they are heavier than the traditional ash bat. Combine more pieces + more weight + unpredictable flight pattern and you have a bigger risk.

Maple is a little more durable than ash plus some people like the greater weight which, if you wield it properly, makes a batted ball travel farther. But weight can also reduce bat speed.

Remember Sammy Sosa and the corked bat scandals? Before Sammy started juicing, he was a little guy who stole bases, hit for average and managed around 30-35 home runs per season. The corked bat was his option to lighten the bat and increase bat speed. All things considered, I think bat speed poses less danger to players than maple bats, but I also have a built-in bias because one of the reasons I love baseball is that little guys with skill can compete just fine against big guys with brawn.