Clearing equipment at the plate..

[Dave Hensley]

Just as Rich posted elsewhere that he's not a groundskeeper, I am not a bat-boy. Unless the bat is right on the line and there is time to clear it, I never touch a bat. It's a pet peeve of mine to see umpires playing bat boy, picking up bats and taking them over to the dugout after an inning change, and the like.

If a catcher is deliberately placing his headgear on or in front of the plate, I will kick it out of the way. Hard. To the backstop. I've never had to do it more than once in a game.