Quote:
|
Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA
You only need to go to page 64 of the 2007 ASA rule book. This rule alone demonstrates that bats with the ASA certification mark and are not on the Non-approved list meet the 2004 certification standards. And since the bats do meet the 2004 standards, they should be legal for NFHS play without going to the approved list.
|
Faulty logic, Mike. You reached an invalid conclusion because you did not provide all the information.
First: ASA rules
do not require bats to meet the 2004 standard. For ASA, a legal bat can have the 2000 Cert Mark,
AND must not be on the Non-Approved list,
OR must be on the approved list,
OR be approved by the umpire. What you can deduct from this is (1)
any 2000 bat not on the non-approved list is legal; there are no other conditions. ASA does not say it meets the 2004 specifications. You cannot assume that
all (or any) 2000 bats are on the Approved List.
Now hopefully all of us know that the 2004 standard is not simply a new year standard, but is a tougher standard. It was developed because ASA did not feel the 2000 standard was restrictive enough. Therefore you can safely assume that there are 2000 bats that would not meet the newer and higher 2004 standard.
NFHS has a more stringent standard. They specifically state that all bats must meet the 2004 standard, and not be on the non-approved list.
That's it - that is the entire rule.
How do umpires know if a bat meets a testing standard that most of us don't have a clue what the standard is or how it is tested?
1. If it has been manufactured since late 2003 and was certified, then the manufacturer is authorized to print the 2004 Cert Mark on the bat. It is a legal bat for NFHS play.
2. If it is one of thousands of bats manufactured prior to 2004, and if its specifications have been submitted to ASA to prove that it meets the 2004 standard, then it has been added to the Approved list.
Can you assume there there are bats with no cert marks that have made it to the approved list? Yes, and you can prove your assumption just by checking some old bats to the list.
Can you assume that all un-marked bats are on the list? No. No one that I know of has physically checked all the old bats to the list.
Can you assume that there are bats with 2000 cert mark that have made it to the approved list? Yes, and you can prove your assumption just be checking some 2000 bats to the list.
Can you assume that all 2000 bats are on the list? No. No one from ASA has officially made that statement, and no one that I know of has physically checked all the 2000 bats to the list.
So if you are calling high school ball - follow this proceedure:
1 - A bat with the 2004 mark (not on the non-approved list) is OK to use.
2 - A bat with the 2000 mark is temporarily rejected.
3 - A bat with no mark is temporarily rejected.
4 - If the coach provides pages from the ASA Approved List with his bats highlighted, then accept the bat for play. If not, take them out of the dugout.
WMB