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Originally Posted by Four Seam
In many years of coaching at all levels and venues, I can't recall ever having seen an umpire inspect a bat when a batter comes up to bat. What I have seen, of course, is umpires inspecting the bats on the bat racks before the games. And I have thought to myself, what if, during the game, a batter brings her own bat in from her bag and goes up to bat with it, which on some teams could be almost every batter? That bat might be a banned bat, but it will probably not be looked at by the umpire. What is an umpire expected to do to enforce the rule?
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C'mon down to Seattle. I was doing the Emerald City Women's League on Wednesday. I checked the bats before the game. Player arrives late - I know this because they tell me SusieQ has arrived and they are adding her to the lineup.
SusieQ is going to lead off the next inning, and I am standing on the baseline near the on deck circle (not much foul territory at this field, so we are very close) I see what she has in her hands. It says "Ultra II" and I know it';s not legal.
So...I say, "Hey you're the one who came in late. I need to check your bats."
She doesn't bat an eye. (Pardpn the pun.) She brings me TWO Ultra II bats. I gently inform her that no, these aren't approved bats. She balks slightly, so I pull out the handy dandy sheet with photos.
Now I didn't have to do this and know I will catch grief from a few (I can name them already), but I'd just as soon not chuck somebody. IMHO, sometimes it's knowing what level the players/leagues are. Not being championship play, I also feel I have a little more leeway.
However, if Bubba "Troublemaker" Testosterone steps into the box with his UltraCompHammerBomb X2 because he wants to show off, heck with him. They know better, and it really doesn't take that long to file a report with our e-system.