[EsqUmp]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

Fair question.

I've never seen (while umpiring or observing umpires):
A) A thrown ball hit a discarded bat.
B) A runner or fielder trip over a discarded bat.
C) A play affected in any way, positive or negative, by a discarded bat (other than, of course, the batted ball hitting a bat or a discarded bat hitting a batted ball ... which is surely outside the scope of what we're talking about here)

I do want to ask ... which of these problems have you seen happen that you and your association is trying to avoid by moving the bat?
I have seen runners move around the bat or come up lame because of the bat's location with respect to the plate. In those cases, the catcher did not move it since she probably felt it was beneficial for her not to. I've seen a runner slide into a bat and because of the way it was positioned and the batter's boxes being dug out a bit, it went flying up and hit the catcher in the face.

Another fair question. I have witnessed all of the following (all as observer / UIC, never as umpire):

A) Umpire missed SOMETHING while either moving to the bat or reaching for the bat (and yes, this can be fixed with increased training) - "something" includes more than one obstruction, one obviously missed base that I and everyone but him saw - that one resulted in an ejection eventually, one ball that was thrown out of play and the umpire incorrectly ruled where the runners were when the ball was thrown. Probably others in this category that I don't definitively recall right now. It's unfortunate that the umpire is unable to move a bat and look ahead at the same time. If he can't do that, I suspect that there is plenty more that he can't do. Can't someone tie their shoes without staring at the laces?
B) One threatened lawsuit that was settled. Bat was expensive. Player's father claimed bat was broken when the umpire tossed it aside into the pole of the fence. He didn't throw it hard - but it was enough to give at least a shred of validity to the possibility that the player's father was right. The league paid for the bat. This umpire certainly didn't follow the protocol that I have established
C) One innocuous discarded bat was picked up and thrown aside, hitting an on deck batter who was behind the umpire watching the play. (Worse on this one, there was never any potential play at the plate - no runners on, typical single to right - no need at ALL for the umpire to even think about the bat ... but he did.) This umpire certainly didn't follow the protocol that I have established.
D) One discarded bat was picked up and tossed, landing on and breaking the snap on a discarded catcher's mask.This umpire certainly didn't follow the protocol that I have established.

I don't buy the "broken equipment" argument. A player can take 500 hits at batting practice and drop/toss the bat every time they get a hit in a game and they want to blame the umpire for the broken bat? These are the same cheats and liars who want their entire 2002 Honda Accord painted when they get into a fender-bender.