Smell and memory are powerfully linked. Not long ago, working in the woods, I unknowingly got pine pitch on my hand, and when rubbing my nose, was brought instantly back to my baseball playing days. Tar and pitch don’t smell exactly the same, but the olfactory magic still happened. Specifically, I recalled the smell of my bat bag, where I kept my pine tar rag and bottle in a very sticky plastic bag. A cascade of other sensory experiences similarly flowed forth. I could almost sense the grit of basepaths beneath my spikes, the firm spring of hitting the corner of a base, and the smooth yet explosive feel of hitting a pitch just right, in the “sweet spot” of the bat (which is, by the way, smaller on a wood bat).

Most baseball players today don’t know the smell of pine tar or the feel of “good wood” on a pitch. The same is true for my generation; the use of wooden bats has been mostly left to the professional and college summer leagues. What if that were to change? Could that change involve not only the sport of baseball but also forest product manufacturing, even if on a minor scale?

I’m not the first to explore this idea of returning youth baseball to wooden bats. There are pros and cons, some of which I’ll quickly touch upon, but the “out of left field” idea I’m going to share (excuse the purposeful phraseology) is what may be new (though by no means fully thought out).

To begin with, the benefits of using wooden bats, from a baseball perspective, are that players learn to become fundamentally better hitters, games can be quicker-paced due to more successful pitching and defense, balls are argued by many to come off the bat slower (a safety benefit), and the ping of aluminum is replaced by the traditional crack of wood. On the down side, bats break, and that costs money.

However, let’s consider the economic reality with aluminum bats. Baseball parents can attest that metal bats, at least the high-performance ones that players want, are no bargain. Bats can cost as much as, if not more than, $300. That’s quite an investment, but reasonable if it lasts. There is the rub. They don’t usually last more than a season without losing “pop” and becoming “dead.” For $250, you may only get a couple months of use. Perhaps $30-50 wood bats can compete. Surely, $150 composite bats made of wood and synthetic materials, which last at least as long as metal bats and act more like wood, can compete.

Another question arises beyond the immediate economics of buying bats. Are there other potential community or environmental benefits to be gained? Could forest landowners, especially small woodlot owners, benefit from selling their trees for a specialty product? Perhaps the nostalgic aspect would add to our Maine sense of individuality, tradition and raw “toughness”.

Sometimes an idea needs a nudge, so in the spirit of “what if,” what if some form of philanthropy or consortium got together to establish a network of forest owners who could sell white ash (and perhaps rock maple) to a mill or mills outfitted to produce wooden bats? At the same time, requiring the use of wooden bats for Maine high school and junior high baseball programs would increase demand (this would be increased further if youth leagues also made the switch). Furthermore, athletic programs might receive financial help with the endeavor if they buy Maine produced bats. If the action became a national trend, maybe a Maine company or set of companies could join the likes of Louisville Slugger and we’d have another Maine wood product to market.

At this point, you, the reader, may have several thoughts about logistics and details that I haven’t considered. I know that. This is a spark of crazy — I have them often. Though I haven’t fully accounted for a number of hugely important details, I still want to share the concept, if for no other reason than it speaks of romance.

A whiff of pine pitch started me down this road. All the memories that smell brought forth, coupled with the woods I love, fuel my vision of young men swinging the timber that grows around their hometowns. Heck, you could add to the “buy local” bumper sticker with another, titled, “swing local wood.”

This entire notion may be a tad foolish or naïve. Yet, I cringe at the act of buying $400 metal bats that may be used as little as 100 times before wearing out. This is sports, not an arms race. So, perhaps I’m old-fashioned and eco-centered, but why not go back to tradition and use a renewable resource available here in Maine? Plus, a whole new generation of players could experience the joy of having a fastball get in on their hands where it shatters their bat and leaves their hands feeling like they were attacked by a swarm of bees — an especially pleasant sensation during raw spring days here in Maine.

Rex Turner is the Director of Education for the Maine Lakes Conservancy Institute and resides in Augusta. E-mail: rturner@mlci.org