Study shows Shakespeare as ruthless businessman

LONDON — Hoarder, moneylender, tax dodger — it's not how we usually think of William Shakespeare.

But we should, according to a group of academics who say the Bard was a ruthless businessman who grew wealthy dealing in grain during a time of famine.

Researchers from Aberystwyth University in Wales argue that we can't fully understand Shakespeare unless we study his often-overlooked business savvy.

"Shakespeare the grain-hoarder has been redacted from history so that Shakespeare the creative genius could be born," the researchers say in a paper due to be delivered at the Hay literary festival in Wales in May.

Jayne Archer, a lecturer in medieval and Renaissance literature at Aberystwyth, said that oversight is the product of "a willful ignorance on behalf of critics and scholars who I think — perhaps through snobbery — cannot countenance the idea of a creative genius also being motivated by self-interest."

Archer and her colleagues Howard Thomas and Richard Marggraf Turley combed through historical archives to uncover details of the playwright's parallel life as a grain merchant and property owner in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon whose practices sometimes brought him into conflict with the law.

"Over a 15-year period he purchased and stored grain, malt and barley for resale at inflated prices to his neighbors and local tradesmen," they wrote, adding that Shakespeare "pursued those who could not (or would not) pay him in full for these staples and used the profits to further his own money-lending activities."

He was pursued by the authorities for tax evasion, and in 1598 was prosecuted for hoarding grain during a time of shortage.

The charge sheet against Shakespeare was not entirely unknown, though it may come as shock to some literature lovers. But the authors argue that modern readers and scholars are out of touch with the harsh realities the writer and his contemporaries faced.

He lived and wrote in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, during a period known as the "Little Ice Age," when unusual cold and heavy rain caused poor harvests and food shortages.

"I think now we have a rather rarefied idea of writers and artists as people who are disconnected from the everyday concerns of their contemporaries," Archer said. "But for most writers for most of history, hunger has been a major concern — and it has been as creatively energizing as any other force."

She argues that knowledge of the era's food insecurity can cast new light on Shakespeare's plays, including "Coriolanus," which is set in an ancient Rome wracked by famine. The food protests in the play can be seen to echo the real-life 1607 uprising of peasants in the English Midlands, where Shakespeare lived.

Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate told the Sunday Times newspaper that Archer and her colleagues had done valuable work, saying their research had "given new force to an old argument about the contemporaneity of the protests over grain-hoarding in 'Coriolanus.'"

Archer said famine also informs "King Lear," in which an aging monarch's unjust distribution of his land among his three daughters sparks war.

"In the play there is a very subtle depiction of how dividing up land also involves impacts on the distribution of food," Archer said.

Archer said the idea of Shakespeare as a hardheaded businessman may not fit with romantic notions of the sensitive artist, but we shouldn't judge him too harshly. Hoarding grain was his way of ensuring that his family and neighbors would not go hungry if a harvest failed.

"Remembering Shakespeare as a man of hunger makes him much more human, much more understandable, much more complex," she said.

"He would not have thought of himself first and foremost as a writer. Possibly as an actor — but first and foremost as a good father, a good husband and a good citizen to the people of Stratford."

She said the playwright's funeral monument in Stratford's Holy Trinity Church reflected this. The original monument erected after his death in 1616 showed Shakespeare holding a sack of grain. In the 18th century, it was replaced with a more "writerly" memorial depicting Shakespeare with a tasseled cushion and a quill pen.

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Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless

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Patients of Oklahoma doctor line up for tests

TULSA, Okla. — Hundreds of patients of an Oklahoma oral surgeon accused of unsanitary practices showed up at a health clinic Saturday, looking to find out whether they were exposed to hepatitis or the virus that causes AIDS.

Letters began going out Friday to 7,000 patients who had seen Dr. W. Scott Harrington during the past six years, warning them that poor hygiene at his clinics created a public health hazard. The one-page letter said how and where to seek treatment but couldn't explain why Harrington's allegedly unsafe practices went on for so long.

Testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and the virus that causes AIDS began at 10 a.m. Saturday, but many arrived early and stood through torrential downpours. The Tulsa Health Department said 420 people were tested Saturday at its North Regional Health and Wellness Center. Screenings resume Monday morning.

Kari Childress, 38, showed up at 8:30 a.m., mainly because she was nervous.

"I just hope I don't have anything," said Childress, who had a tooth extracted at one of Harrington's two clinics five months ago. "You trust and believe in doctors to follow the rules, and that's the scariest part."

Inspectors found a number of problems at the doctor's clinics in Tulsa and suburban Owasso, according to the state Dentistry Board, which filed a 17-count complaint against Harrington pending an April 19 license revocation hearing. According to the complaint, needles were reinserted into drug vials after being used on patients, expired drugs were found in a medicine cabinet and dental assistants, not the doctor, administered sedatives to patients.

One patient, Orville Marshall, said he didn't meet Harrington until after he had two wisdom teeth pulled about five years ago at the Owasso clinic. A nurse inserted the IV for his anesthesia; Harrington was there when Marshall came to.

"It's just really scary. It makes you doubt the whole system, especially with how good his place looked," said Marshall, 37.

An instrument set reserved for use on patients with infectious diseases was rusty, preventing its effective sterilization, and the office autoclave — a pressurized cleaner — was used improperly and hadn't been certified as effective in at least six years, according to the complaint.

Dr. Matt Messina, a Cleveland dentist and a consumer adviser for the American Dental Association, said creating a safe and hygienic environment is "one of the fundamental requirements" before any dental procedure can be performed.

"It's not hard. It just takes effort," he said.

Weekly autoclave testing can be performed for less than $400 annually, according to the website of the Autoclave Testing Services of Pearl River, New York.

Autoclaves typically can be purchased for $1,000 to $8,000, depending on their size and features. And an average dental practice can expect to pay more than $40,000 a year in equipment, tools and supplies alone, according to several dental organizations.

Attempts to reach Harrington have been unsuccessful. No one answered the door Thursday at his Oklahoma home, which property records show is worth more than $1 million. His practice a few miles away, in a tony section of Tulsa where plastic surgeons operate and locals congregate at bistros and stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, has a fair-market value of around $851,000.

Property and tax records show Harrington owns another residence in Carefree, Ariz., in an area of upscale homes tucked into in the boulder-strewn mountains north of Phoenix.

Nobody was at home Saturday at the low-slung, 1950s-style vacation home, across from the Boulders Resort. Neighbors said they had seen a lot of activity at the home in recent weeks.

Harrington's malpractice lawyer, Jim Secrest II, did not respond to phone messages left Thursday or Friday. A message at Harrington's Tulsa office said it was closed and an answering service referred callers to the Tulsa Health Department.

Suzy Horton, an old friend of Harrington's, said she can't believe the allegations about the man who removed two of her teeth in the early '90s. Horton's ex-husband sold Harrington his home in Carefree — a home where she once lived.

"I've been to dentists my whole life, so I know what a professional office looks like," Horton, who now lives in Phoenix, said in a telephone interview. "His was just as professional as anybody."

Horton hasn't seen Harrington in years, but she said he has sent her a Christmas card and wreath every year since her 1999 divorce.

"It was a long time ago, so I suppose anything can change, but the kind of person they're portraying in the news is not the kind of person who sends you a Christmas" card, she said.

___

Associated Press writers Traci Carl in Carefree, Ariz., and Jeannie Nuss in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.

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Print in another dimension

Imagine that your old inkjet or laser printer could pump out three-dimensional objects on demand — kind of like those futuristic replicator devices that exist only in the world of "Star Trek."

You could create something frivolous like a new pair of shoes or smartphone case. Or decorative, like a miniature model of the Eiffel Tower. Or something medically helpful like a dental retainer. Perhaps a replacement air filter for your car.

This is where the world of 3-D printing is headed.

Also known as additive manufacturing, or in the medical field, bio-printing, companies are pushing into what has long been the sole province of architects and professional design and fabrication firms.

From Cambridge to California, startups are using a variety of materials and methods in an attempt to bring this technology to the mainstream.

Here in the Hub, the startup c, founded by a trio of MIT Media Lab alums, is nearly ready to ship its first desktop 3-D printer, a sleek silver and orange box called the Form 1.

With nearly $3 million raised on Kickstarter and a slew of high-profile investors, the Form 1 costs $3,299 — including 1 liter of resin (think 3-D ink).

Available for preorder on formlabs.com, the printer stands 18 inches high and has a roughly 12x12 footprint. It can fabricate objects about the size of two Rubik's Cubes.

Other companies are trying to introduce 3-D printing as well.

Brooklyn-based MakerBot is already selling the second generation of its aptly named Replicator, and a group of University of California at Berkeley students are working to develop a 3-D "vending machine," a printer that can receive orders via email and then build and dispense the finished product.

The big hurdle for this industry right now is that its buyers have to know 3-D CAD software to design multidimensional objects. That basically limits the market to engineers and architects.

But one local startup is producing a device that could spur mainstream interest in 3-D fabrication. The 3Doodler claims to be the world's first three-dimensional printing pen, and it had raised $2.3 million in Kickstarter funding as of last week. It allows users to "draw" lines of quick-cooling plastic that can be used to create designs and shapes that rise off the paper. The company says the price will be under $100, and it could be the tipping point for a 3-D generation that will come to think of printing as something that doesn't just happen on paper.

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Cabbies battle app services

The taxicab and limousine industry has fired another salvo in its war on certain transportation apps by releasing a list of what its members call "rogue" services that endanger the public.

The report by the Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association names three applications that operate in the Boston area: on-demand private-driver service Uber and ride-sharing apps SideCar and Tickengo.

"There's nothing wrong with technology; it just needs to comply with the regulatory structure to ensure that it doesn't take advantage of the public," said Alfred LaGasse, the association's CEO. "Some of these apps are basically 21st century hitchhiking."

Oleg Uritsky, a spokesman for Boston taxi owners, said the apps have no public oversight, including the semi-annual inspections that city cabs must undergo.

"This is not fair competition," he said.

In an email, Travis Kalanick, CEO and co-founder of Uber Technologies Inc., blasted the report, calling its accusations "baseless" and "fear-mongering."

"Uber's technology platform has helped millions of consumers who can speak to the safer, more reliable transportation they have enjoyed in cities around the world," Kalanick said. "And the thousands of legal, licensed and regulated transportation companies that Uber partners with can speak to the opportunity Uber has given them, allowing for better incomes and the rapid growth of their own small businesses."

SideCar and Tickengo could not be reached for comment.

Earlier this month, the lawyer representing the Boston Cab Association filed suit against Uber and said he was also looking into SideCar, arguing that both provide taxi service without meeting hackney division standards.

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The Ticker

Consumer issues, 
tips forum set

Members of the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation will join leaders from the Attorney General's Office, Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau to announce each agency's top five consumer issues of 2012.

The agencies also will offer tips to consumers to avoid similar issues in the future. The event will be held tomorrow at 1000 Washington St., Hearing Room 1E.

TOMORROW

• The Institute for Supply Management releases its manufacturing index for March.
• The Commerce Department releases construction spending for February.
• Harvard Law School hosts Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, David Souter and Kenneth Starr for a panel discussion on civics education.
• A South Station expansion public meeting is held at One South Station.

TUESDAY

• Automakers release vehicle sales for March.
• Lantheus Medical Imaging Inc. hosts a conference call to discuss its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2012.

WEDNESDAY

• Natixis Global Asset Management President and CEO John Hailer addresses the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on immigration, education and global competitiveness at the Intercontinental Hotel.

THURSDAY

• An investor pitch event is held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hosted by Future Energy in partnership with the MIT Energy Club and MIT Clean Energy Prize.

FRIDAY

• The U.S. jobs report for March is released.
• The Federal Reserve releases consumer credit data for February.
• The Boston Children's Museum brings together business leaders, including Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish, John Hancock Funds CFO Charles Rizzo, National Grid President Marcy Reed and Akamai Technologies CEO Tom Leighton with policymakers and educators to discuss early learning and development of young children at a summit held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

• James McDonough has been elected president and chief executive officer of Randolph Savings Bank. McDonough succeeds Jack Doyle, who is retiring.
• Boston-based online retailer Wayfair.com has announced five executive promotions:
• Ed Macri was named senior vice president of business intelligence and marketing.
• John Mulliken was named senior vice president of strategic initiatives.
• Dave Raymond was named vice president of operations process improvement.
• Jeff Steeves was named vice president of marketing.
• Laura Scott was named vice president of supplier operations.

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If you have run-flat tires, you shouldn’t need a spare

I recently purchased a 2011 Toyota Sienna AWD van. It has run-flat tires and no spare. I tow a boat at times in places where it's not easy to get a flat fixed, so I want to purchase a spare to carry on trips. Because the car has all-wheel drive, should I purchase a "doughnut" spare or a full-size one? Some say that I need a full-size spare; others that a doughnut will work just fine. What is best?

Having experience with run-flat tires on two different vehicles — a 1959 military Ferret reconnaissance car and a 2007 Corvette — I don't think you should worry about carrying a spare tire. Run-flat tires are designed to do precisely that — operate safely with zero air pressure for a reasonable distance at modest speed. In the case of the Ferret, the idea was to be able to drive away from the battlefield after having one or more tires shot up. The Corvette is like your van — no room for a spare. I drove 70 miles home at night in the rain at 50 miles an hour with zero air pressure in the right rear tire with no additional damage to the tire. The next day I had the tire properly patched, and it's still on the vehicle over a year later.

Although my automotive version of Murphy's law says that if you have a spare you'll never need to use it, if you choose to buy a spare, it must be the same make, model and size tire with the same rolling circumference in order to prevent any damage to the AWD drivetrain should you need to use it.

I have a 1991 V6 Toyota pickup with 70,000 miles. After I drive it a long way and get back in, it does not start. Sometimes it will take a jump start, and other times it has to cool down. It will click sometimes and sometimes do nothing at all. The starter has been replaced three times with Toyota starters. I can tap the starter, and then it might start. Could this be a "fusible link"?

No. A fusible link, like a simple fuse, is a single-event electrical protective device. Once it fails, it can no longer conduct any electrical current. Focus on battery cables, connections and grounds as well as the starter relay under the dash and the starter solenoid, which is incorporated into the reduction starter housing.

The simple do-it-yourself procedure is to use jumper cables to bypass the entire electrical system for the starter. When the engine fails to crank, make sure the key is off and the transmission in Park, then connect the red or positive jumper cable clamps to the positive starter terminal on the starter motor and the positive terminal on the battery. Connect the black or negative jumper cable to the negative terminal on the battery and then, with all due caution, touch the other negative clamp to a solid electrical ground on the engine, such as the alternator mounting bracket. The solenoid should engage the starter and crank the engine. If it does, the problem is a poor electrical connection or ground between the battery, starter and chassis ground.

If the starter does not engage during this test, there's a problem with the starter motor or magnetic solenoid switch, which is a separate part of the starter motor assembly.

Recently on a road trip I was passed by a car on which one of its rear tires appeared to be bouncing up and down. A few miles up the road, it was stopped. That tire had blown out and had taken most of the back bumper with it. What causes a tire to be vibrating like that when cruising on the interstate at 75 miles an hour?

An ignorant motorist. I can't imagine the driver not feeling the vibration from that wobbling tire at that speed. Unfortunately, I've seen more than enough evidence of major problems that potentially affect vehicle safety being completely ignored by the motorist — primarily because nothing had happened yet.

In this case, I would suspect two possibilities. First, a tire that has suffered a structural failure or belt separation in the carcass or a progressive separation of the tread, which could explain the rear bumper damage. Secondly, a dead shock absorber/strut on that corner of the vehicle. The uncontrolled up-and-down movement of the wheel could lead to this type of tire failure eventually.

The moral of the story? If it doesn't look, feel, sound, smell or drive right, stop and investigate why. Not sure if anything's wrong? Have it checked out by a professional.

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Come on baby, eat better

Here's something to make Hub parents go gaga: an organic baby food delivery company that cuts out the hassle of cooking by bringing nutritional purees right to their doors.

Purely Pears, which launches tomorrow, is the brainchild of longtime friends Sarah Washburn and Bridget Tivnan. The duo said their self-funded startup is part of a growing health trend that includes similar companies such as Fresh Baby Bites of San Francisco, Whirled Peas Baby Food of Austin, Texas, and Petit Organics of New York City.

"We thought, 'This is something that Boston is missing.' It's obviously working in other metropolitan areas," said Tivnan, 30, a Roslindale mother of two. "I would have used that service if Boston had something, but there was obviously a need for this market in our area."

"Childhood goes by so quickly, in the blink of an eye," added Washburn, 32, of North Reading. "For those few months, you can spend it on the floor with your children or you can spend it in the kitchen mashing sweet potatoes."

Tivnan has devoted herself full time to Purely Pears after five years as an event planner. Washburn, mother of a 1-year-old and owner of a domestic placement agency in Boston, said their idea was arguably first born when Tivnan gave her a book on purees for her baby shower.

Purely Pears offers 12 organic purees, some for babies aged four to seven months and the others for babies aged eight months and older. Flavors in the former group include Perfectly Sweet Potatoes, Beginners Broccoli and Petit Peas.

Customers can buy three-day, seven-day or one-month puree supplies for $29, $58 and $209, respectively. Orders must be placed before 10 p.m. Fridays on the company's website. All food is produced and packaged in less than 24 hours, and has a refrigerator shelf life of four days.

For now, the duo will make their own purees, and personally deliver packages to homes, workplaces and daycares within 20 miles of Boston. But both said they weren't worried about missing out on quality time with their young tykes.

"The goal is to work up to being able to hire people to do more cooking for us so we get that time back," Washburn said.

"I hope the reaction from moms is just relief that they can rest assured while they're at work or doing other things they need to do, this item is checked off their list," Tivnan added.

Dr. Caroline Apovian, director of Boston Medical Center's Nutrition and Weight Management Center, said organic baby food "hasn't become a craze until now," as concerned mothers try to distance themselves from feeding their children processed and packaged foods.

But Apovian added organic baby food delivery companies target professional moms who can afford their services, when lower-income families would actually benefit from them more.

"It's a Catch-22 because it's the professional mothers who tend to have the wherewithal and understand it's important," she said. "It's the mothers who don't have the wherewithal that need it the most. The food that is treated with preservatives tends to be cheaper."

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India's top court to deliver Novartis judgment

NEW DELHI — A pending Supreme Court patent decision in India could reverberate throughout the pharmaceutical industry and beyond.

India's Supreme Court is to rule Monday on a landmark patent case involving Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG.

The international drug makers have been pushing for stronger patent protection in India to regulate the country's $26 billion generic drug industry, which they say often flouts intellectual property rights. They warn that a rejection of Novartis' position could discourage new research and refinement.

At issue is a legal provision in India's 2005 patent law aimed at preventing companies from getting fresh patents for minor changes to medicines — a practice known as "evergreening."

The drug in question is called Gleevec and it's used to treat leukemia and other cancers. It costs $2,600 a month while the generic version available in India costs around $175 per month.

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New England renewable energy a hard sell in region

HARTFORD, Conn. — Establishing a New England market to buy renewable energy seemed a laudable goal when governors committed last year to bulk purchases of wind and solar power to knock down the price while reducing the region's reliance on fossil fuels.

Consumers could benefit from price stability, even from costlier wind and energy power. But putting together details about what types of renewable energy the six states will buy in the groundbreaking deal is snared in a patchwork of rules, state laws and disagreements over how even to define alternative energy.

"I don't think we know how to do it," was the blunt assessment of Christopher Recchia, commissioner of Vermont's Public Service Department.

For example, Vermont environmental officials believe biomass — energy from living or recently living materials — is a form of renewable energy. But Dan Esty, Connecticut's environmental commissioner, said biomass is "not cutting edge." And Connecticut legislation being considered would require biomass and landfill-gas plants to improve their environmental performance to be part of the state's portfolio of renewable power.

The price of wind and solar power has been falling, and a regional purchase could be expected to put more downward pressure on prices. To consumers, the immediate benefit from wind and solar power is price stability, which eludes oil and natural gas, tied to fluctuating global markets.

Wind and solar power are more expensive than gas, about 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour versus 4 to 6 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to Seth Kaplan, vice president of the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston. But wind and solar projects can win financing more easily than coal- and gas-fired plants, which are increasingly in disfavor because of environmental worries. And nuclear plants take years to win permits and to build.

By offering long-term contracts to wind and solar power suppliers, New England states would virtually guarantee financing for renewable power projects.

However, not all of the six New England states are joining the regional effort, the only such endeavor in the country. New Hampshire is not participating, and Maine and Vermont disagree with Connecticut over whether hydropower and biomass count as renewable energy.

Because of their size, Connecticut and Massachusetts can drive the regional project. Electricity demand in the two states is about 70 percent of demand in New England.

"Connecticut and Massachusetts have the ability to make a market here," Kaplan said. "This is a market that is waiting to be tapped."

In the region, 28 wind projects totaling 2,000 megawatts are waiting for approval, said Marcia Blomberg, spokeswoman for ISO-New England, the region's grid. That represents 40 percent of total megawatts in projects waiting for an OK and would nearly triple wind power output in the region.

Esty said he sees a "real break out here in regional cooperation." But Massachusetts is criticizing Connecticut as it tries to update 15-year-old rules related to the share of renewable energy as a proportion of overall sources of power.

Legislation in Connecticut would expand the types of hydropower and biogas that count as alternative power in the state's portfolio, create a new class that includes certain large-scale hydropower resources and make other changes in alternative power standards.

Massachusetts officials do not consider large hydropower projects eligible for its portfolio of renewable energy because it's a "mature technology," compared with newer alternative energy such as wind and power, said Steven Clarke, assistant secretary for energy in Massachusetts.

Energy Undersecretary Barbara Kates-Garnick said Massachusetts has "serious concerns about how Connecticut's proposed changes to its renewable portfolio standard will affect the region's renewable market."

"We have been talking with Connecticut officials but have made no commitment to a first round procurement," she said.

Maine also is taking shots at the regional plan because of which renewables are counted. Patrick Woodcock, Maine's director of energy, said biomass is "unfairly targeted" and he is uncertain that New England can establish a uniform renewable energy policy.

Maine is looking to sign hydropower contracts with Quebec and Canada's Maritime Provinces, seeing limits imposed in New England on the scale of hydropower and what counts as renewable energy as "parochial," he said.

"It diminishes a partnership across the entire Northeast to create more certainty with pricing and to further environmental goals," he said.

Marion Gold, Rhode Island's energy commissioner, said she's optimistic that New England will put together a workable purchase plan for alternative energy.

"We're working through all the different challenges to work collaboratively," she said. "Each state has a slightly different way of going through the process."

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Louisville Slugger rolls out new logo, harder bats

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The familiar smell of hot dogs and freshly cut grass on Major League Baseball's Opening Day will be complemented by changes to the iconic Louisville Slugger bat, which is now made with firmer wood and stamped with a new logo.

The 129-year-old manufacturer hopes the harder bat, which is less likely to splinter, and more modern logo will help the family-owned company stay relevant in the sporting good supply market and ahead of competitors in luring younger ballplayers to its products.

The new logo is the first such change since the company dropped the "Hillerich & Bradsby" name from the center of its oval design and replaced it with "Louisville Slugger" in 1980. And the new bats, which are made from a high-grade wood and processed to enhance the surface's hardness, are the biggest change in the hardware since the introduction of cup-ended bats in 1972.

"You have to ask yourself, Do you really need to change it?" Louisville Slugger CEO John Hillerich said of the logos and bats. "Our greatest asset is our brand."

The changes were the result of a multi-year process that involved talking with everyone from corporate partners to players about what they wanted in a bat to how the new logo looked on the equipment.

The new bats — made of ash or maple — are designed to be harder than previous models. Bobby Hillerich, director of Wood Bat Manufacturing for Louisville Slugger, said new selection processes for the wood, as well as drying and processing methods, have created a bat hard enough to reach a grade of 9h — the highest rating possible by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

Buyers search for the hardest wood available — known as veneer wood — which is vacuum dried to pull moisture out of the wood and push the material closer together, Bobby Hillerich said. Once that is done, the wood is cut into billets used to create the bats. The billets are shaped and compressed before being finished with a water-based coating, logo, and any coloring and player signature.

Part of the aim of the new bat is to keep it from splintering on the field. In recent years, baseball officials have been concerned about maple bats breaking or shattering, creating potential hazards for infielders. Bobby Hillerich said the new bats have held up well in tests.

"The crack of the bat is just so much different because of the drying process," Hillerich said.

Howard Smith, Vice President of Licensing for Major League Baseball, said players tested the new bats toward the end of the 2012 season and gave it "rave reviews." Louisville Slugger has refined bat-making to a science, Smith said.

"In terms of the slope of the grain, which determines how hard the wood will be, Louisville has been able to harvest the best wood with the most perfect as you can get slope of grain," Smith said. "It has absolutely contributed to less bats breaking on the field."

With the new bats comes a new look. The old Louisville Slugger logo — an oval featuring the company name at the center with the number "125" above it — is being replaced by a new logo that keeps the oval, but slightly alters the look of the Louisville Slugger name and has an interlocking "LS" above it. The bats, marketed as MLB Prime, will also feature a player's signature boxed in by the Louisville Slugger name, the model number, a notation that the bat is genuine and the wood from which it is made.

Older bats featured the model number and the Louisville Slugger name in parallel lines around a player's signature.

"We saw the brand in need of a small bit of an infusion of modernity," said Kyle Schlegel, vice president of Global Marketing for Hillerich & Bradsby.

"Changing such an iconic logo can come with risks, particularly if the alterations are dramatic enough to cause customers to not recognize the brand identity," said Michael Barone, a professor of marketing at the University of Louisville. Other long-standing brands, such as Ivory, Betty Crocker and Harley-Davidson, have successfully made small logo changes over the years, Barone said.

"When you've been in the market that long, consumers may start to think you are not as contemporary or relevant as you really are," Barone said. "A logo could signal something new. It helps get attention back to a mature brand."

The company is rolling out the new logo with a "What Mark Will You Leave?" campaign on its website, Facebook page and Twitter account.

To John Hillerich, the logo change and launch on Opening Day fits well with the future he sees for the company, a path that takes it into deeper ties with baseball. Along with bats, the new logo will appear on equipment bags, catcher equipment and gloves.

Eventually, the logo could appear on apparel and other items, possibly even pop-up stores or restaurants, Hillerich said.

"Could you take that on the road?" he asked. "Those decisions are five to 10 years out, depending on how you grow the company."

___

Follow Associated Press reporter Brett Barrouquere on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBarrouquereAP

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