Okay, that term is in the first part of the rule- my bad. But I took it, from the "rationale" offered, that the propsed rule change is to prevent players from removing equipment from the field prior to the game, to "eliminate the need for umpires to enter the teams dugouts to inspect equipment prior to a contest".
But now I get it- somebody wants to remove the pre-game equipment inspection entirely from our responsibilities.
Why not just say that!
JM: I might have misinterpreted the intent of the proposal, but I didn't add words that aren't even there. The word "loose" is definitely there. It is the 38th word in the sentence, and being within the same sentence seems to qualify as being "in the vicinity".