checking equipment

[DownTownTonyBrown]

Originally posted by cbfoulds
Can't speak for my fellow scum-sucking bottom dwellers:
For my own opinions, here goes~

...

Only problem is: nobody really cares if there is illegal junk in the dugout. The nastiness starts when the illegal and unsafe equipment finds its way onto the field of play. I seriously doubt that the State or your Assn. is condoning allowing such gear to be USED. SOOooo ...

You don't inspect, 'cause the applicable Std. of Care doesn't require it; and in the 2d inning a kid brings an illegal bat that doesn't meet BESR & other stds. into the game, hits a shot that clocks F1 between the eyes, killing him. You could have/ would have found the illegal bat and removed it from the venue, IF you had inspected, but, you didn't. You COULD have noticed the illegal bat when the batter entered the box, but, really, how closely do you look?

My guess is, you get sued. Under these facts, the case probably goes to the jury. MAYBE you have a case [called a cross claim] against the kid's rat coach for lying to you and also for allowing the bat to be used, and against the kid who used the bat. But if the jury finds against you, gonna be YOUR name on the judgment, and good luck collecting reimbursement [called "contribution"] from the kid. And, as we have discussed elsewhere, win or lose, somebody has to pay your thousands of dollars in legal fees [defense atttorneys get paid win or lose - no contingent fees for defense and insurance lawyers].

My advice ~ ALWAYS do your job for safety issues. Anybody asks you to do less, ask 'em for a written indemnity and proof of financial responsibility; and when they look at you blankly and respond "HUNUH??!?": DO YOUR JOB.

--Carter

And who says the equipment/bat that you inspect is the equipment/bat they actually use to play the game.

Nobody would put out an illegal bat to be inspected (unless it was an umpire trying to test someone). I'm not saying that illegal equipment won't show up, it's just that if a coach/player knows that a bat is illegal, it won't be there for inspection. Can I still be held liable? Possibly.

How thorough does my inspection need to be? Do I need to put my hands on every bat and find the bruised/smeared/smudged BESR silkscreen? What about counterfeit bats - has the proper marking but is really an illegal one? Am I still liable? Should I have X-ray examination so I can see the internals? Should have a test bat submitted ahead of the game so I can perform material analysis to ensure an illegal material has not been employed in the design? Should I perform my own resiliency tests to ensure the bat construction is not too lively?

Inspection doesn't buy me crap except to say that it was done. It doesn't provide safety to the game and it doesn't ensure illegal bats aren't used.

If it really were a serious issue, bats would be provided by game management and controlled - locked up between uses and checked in and out with serial number identification, photo ID, etc. That would be a lot of fun and really add something to the game.

I'm just playing the devil's advocate but I don't really think inspection is all it is cracked up to be.

And Cracked Helmets. Yowza! Do you eject for that?