Quote:
Originally Posted by Dakota
I don't dislike it because of the time it takes. I dislike the very idea that the umpire is responsible for checking the legality of the equipment a team is using. It turns what should be the responsibility of the coach / player / parent into a cat and mouse game.
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I’ve never viewed this as a legality issue. Rather, it’s simply a rules compliance issue. No different than checking the field, the game balls, the lineup cards, and the players’ uniforms. And there’s the added benefit of having a second set of eyes to check the safety of the equipment, as Irish mentioned. An umpire who doesn’t want to be bothered by playing a role in player safety should really rethink his/her responsibilities in the game, IMO.
That said, I do understand there are legality issues with the game. But they’re there regardless whether we inspect hats and bats or not. We need to protect ourselves with appropriate insurance for that purpose. Just because a bat that we didn’t look at before a game because we no longer have to by rule ends up breaking and injuring the pitcher, that’s not going to necessarily absolve us of any liability in the eyes of the pitcher’s parents. If that happened to me, I wouldn’t worry about any legal repercussions since I’m covered through NASO. But what WOULD keep me up at nights afterward is the thought that I might’ve been able to prevent it had I done a pregame bat check.