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We are also instructed by our UIC to leave the bats alone for the legal reasons as stated above.
In the mid 80's, we had an Umpire who was hit with a $25k judgement. After a foul ball went out of play (over the fence) he took one from his ballbag and tossed it back to the pitcher. Just at that moment her coach called to her and she looked away. Ball hit her in the mouth, knocking some teeth out. The legal argument used was "Where in the rules is it the Umpire's responsibility to return balls to the pitcher?" (Hey don't flame me, it's what happened.) Because it was not a SPECIFIC duty of the Umpire, he incurred the liability of the throw. We are now also told to NEVER return a ball to the pitcher, hand it to the catcher.
So we don't move bats and we don't throw balls. We make decisions and rulings. Sad, but true.
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