Sunday’s OTL Feature Two Topics: Kenya Violence Takes Toll on Elite Runners; MLB Looking at Broken-Bat Related Injuries, Use of Maple Wood

Sunday’s Outside the Lines (9:30 a.m. ET, ESPN; noon, 9 a.m. PT, ESPNEWS) will examine the impact recent violence has had on elite runners in Kenya, a country known for producing world champions in the sport, and the program will also look at the spate of broken-bat related injuries in Major League Baseball now that maple is the wood of choice. 

Kenyan  Runners

John Barr's report will focus on how elite runners in Kenya have dealt with the aftermath of the violence that broke out in December after a presidential election that some felt was rigged. Catherine Ndereba, who will compete in the Olympics women's marathon Sunday, Aug. 17, avoided attacks by hiding in her home for days following the violence that erupted after the election. Other runners were not spared, including former Olympic sprinter Lucas Sang, who was murdered in the violence.

The International Crisis Group, a human-rights organization, concluded that Sang died while commanding a raiding party. “Initial reports portraying athletes as victims of the post-election violence eventually gave way to another, far-more controversial storyline,” Barr reports. “According to one human rights group, some of Kenya’s runners, the same athletes who brought this country so much acclaim, funded and even took part in the deadly attacks.”

But David Okeyo, Secretary General Athletics Kenya, disputes the report that blames Sang for being part of the violence, saying, “As far as we’re concerned up to now, it was a very malicious report, very malicious indeed.” 

Also in the piece, Catherine Ndereba, Kenyan Olympic marathoner, said of competing as a county despite tribal differences: “When we come to the Olympics, we will have to do the Olympics as a team, and we are not going to do it for one tribe or the other. We are just going to do it just for Kenya as Kenyans.”

Maple Bats

Bob Holtzman reports on all the bats that have been breaking apart throughout the big leagues. All bats in the Majors were made from ash until the late ‘90s, while now more than two-thirds are produced from maple. Since July 2, baseball’s Health and Safety Committee has collected every broken bat for analysis, and is expected to report findings and recommend solutions before the season ends.

Excerpts from OTL

“What happens sometimes, when you see a maple bat break, it breaks completely in half and you get more of a projectile object.” -- Jack Marucci, manufactures maple bats in Baton Rouge

“I try to get the smallest handle possible, with the biggest head and weighs the least, so I can get that bat speed. That's a recipe for broken bats, but you try to get every edge you can because it's a tough game.” – David Wright, Mets third baseman

“If they look into it and find a study that says that maple bats are more likely to injure somebody, then I’m all for the change.” – Wright

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