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Couple of comments...
Speaking ASA JO fast pitch...
As long as ASA says my judgment determines the bat is legal, if it is a used fastpitch bat that is not dented or cracked, I'll allow it. If ASA actually has a real reason to declare particular bats legal or illegal, they need to have the guts to followthrough. I'm speaking of league play, not championship play.
I might have a different attitude or approach if I was dealing with AA slow pitch.
I don't call NFHS, so I don't know how picky they are. I suspect it is up to the individual states, maybe even individual conferences. If the state federation instructed all umpires to follow the bat certification rule strictly, and they did not have the "umpire judgment" rule, then I would call it like I am being paid to call it, and disallow the bat.
I don't like the "umpire judgment" on legal / illegal bats, but since the ASA doesn't have the guts to stick to the rule, why should I? In JO league play, the object is for the kids to play ball. Since I have no objective measure of the safety of a bat other than its appearance (dents, cracks, etc), that is what I will use.
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