The sight of a broken bat in Major League Baseball can produce anything from a humorous dribbler in the infield to a frightening pointed projectile headed for the stands. Bats usually break at the weakest point, typically in the handle. Breaking happens because the wood gets bent beyond the breaking point due to the wave sent down the bat created by the collision with the ball. The kind of wood that is used plays a role in the manner in which the bat breaks--its "failure mode." We report on a simple experiment to compare the breaking strength and failure modes of ash and maple dowels. The results illustrate some of the features of breaking bats under game conditions. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)