Maple bats became the rage in the mid-2000s as many big leaguers began using maple because of its 20-30% harder surface. The denser wood makes the grains more difficult to see with the naked eye than ash. Since they are denser, maple bats do not flex as ash bats do. Another result of denser wood fibers is that maple bats do not require making contact with the ball on the edge of the grain. Bat orientation is not as important when using maple as it is when swinging ash, however it is recommended to make contact on the edge of the grain as with ash. The denser wood creates a harder bat which makes the ball jump off the bat. Maple bats do not flake as ash bats are known to. Maple bats do not fail over time, they are known to break cleanly.