Seriously, didn’t I just go off about the dangers of maple bats like a week ago?  Yes, it was last Tuesday, in fact.  Did I also not go on and on about the thrills and perils?  You bet I did.

The shattering of a flimsy maple bat, with its wooden shards sailing through the ballpark like stakes in a Buffy episode, gives the game an element of excitement that the casual fan craves. You know those folks who can’t understand how anyone could endure watching an entire baseball game on television without dying of boredom?  They are the ones who benefit here.

These fans – the same ones who watch hockey for the fights and figure skating for the falls – were treated during Wednesday’s Spring matchup between the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox.  In the bottom of the second inning, David Price was nailed in the right hand by the barrel of Adrian Beltre’s busted bat.

Thankfully, the Rays’ 2007 No. 1 draft pick was virtually unscathed, walking away with just a minor abrasion on his right thumb.

“It was more of a scare than anything else,” Price said. “I don’t really remember what happened, to be honest. Tried to make a play on the ball and I guess out of the corner of my eye I saw the bat and just threw my hands up. Could have been a lot worse than what it is right now.”

That’s right, he’s lucky he didn’t poke an eye out.  Now that would’ve been captivating!

Happy ending for Price and his boo-boo: his Rays went on to win the game 8-6.