Glove: Legal or Illegal?
 

I am posting this on both the Baseball and Softball Forums because it is a situation that can happen in both baseball and fastpitch softball, and would like opinions per NFHS, NCAA, OBR/MLB, ASA, and USSSA. I will try to describe the situation as best I can; I just wish I had a picture of the glove because it would be worth a thousand words.

Point of Information: I assume that everybody know what a plastic zip tie is because that is the central issue of this thread. Picture the free end of the zip tie pushed throught the female end thereby completing the tie. The free end is then cut off about 1/8th of an inch past the female end of the zip tie. I think that everybody knows that as designed the zip tie is quite flexible, when it is cut so close the the locking portion of the zip tie, the edges of the tie are quite sharp.

Yesterday after MTD, Jr.'s and my last game in an ASA girls' fastpitch tournament I noticed that one of the player's gloves, rather than using leather laces to keep the glove's fingers to together, she used three zip ties instead. The female ends of the zip ties were on the outside of the glove's fingers and the male end of the zip tie was cut off about 1/8 of an inch past the female part of the zip tie.

My question is: Is this glove legal? And is it safe? The outside of the glove's fingers is the side of the glove that tags the runner about 99.999,999% of the time and if it came in contact with a runner's arm or face in a sweeping motion the sharp edges of the plastic could scratch or cut the runner.

What say you everybody?

MTD, Sr.

If you deem it unsafe, she can't wear it. Sometimes you just have to umpire a little.

JJ

Good idea if you need emergency glove repair.

OBR 1.14 says that the glove itself, all lacings, and the webbing must be leather.

I wouldn't go looking for this infraction (I agree with ST that it's kinda ingenious on an emergency type basis) but if it was brought to my attention and particularly if I felt it was a safety issue, I'd remove the glove from play.

I don't know the girls rules. Baseball rules it's good to go. If it's not illegal, it's legal.It's safer than metal (or even plastic) spikes. There is danger in every pitch in a baseball game. Nothing is safe.Might need a Band-Aid to comply with certain rules pertaining to a bleeding player.

Lots of new gloves have synthetic mesh. And leather gloves do have metal grommets in them. So I wouldn't make a stand on the leather part.

Sounds OOO to me!

Look, I said I wouldn't go looking for this but if brought to my attention and I felt it was a safety issue I would have official backing in removing the glove from play. The rules only say that the webbing, lacing and glove itself have t be leather. Nothing mentioned about grommets (or any other part of the glove, such as cloth tags inside).

Nothing mentioned about the plastic ties having to be leather either, tbh.

I agree that ignore is the best option here.

The part that's being left out here is WHY did this player have zip ties holding their glove together. I am going to ASSUME it was a hardship, and the player fixed an old worn out glove? So IF that was the case, any coach who doesn't go out and beg, borrow, or steal for that kid to have a new glove should go home.

I agree with your agree... BUT

the plastic ties were being used as lacing :)

How about just getting the glove re-laced when possible. Begging, borrowing, and stealing aren't necessarily good traits to have.