NFHS Equipment Inspections

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by Umpire@1

Hope that works out for you. In my area, you wouldn't be assigned many games when word got out, you only do half your job.

Then, IMO, your area has OOOs.

From the NFHS comments on 201 rule changes:

3-2-15 NEW - All equipment to be inspected by the umpire shall be placed outside the dugout/bench prior to the start of the game. Umpires will no longer have to enter the dugout/bench while players and coaches are warming up before the game.

[Skahtboi]

Originally Posted by Dakota

Then, IMO, your area has OOOs.

From the NFHS comments on 201 rule changes:

I was just getting ready to post the same things. Well done. Seems you always beat me to it, even when we both take off massive amounts of time from the forum!

[CecilOne]

Well, at least I woke up the two of you.

That rule wording does say "to be inspected" as if there is a choice about which equipment. And 10-2-3 just say "Inspect equipment" w/o specifics.
Does that imply selectivity by the teams? I didn't find any interp or clarification.

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by CecilOne

That rule wording does say "to be inspected" as if there is a choice about which equipment. And 10-2-3 just say "Inspect equipment" w/o specifics.
Does that imply selectivity by the teams? I didn't find any interp or clarification.

Sorry I'm late for this party, but it seems pretty clear in 10-2-3a that the minimum requirement for equipment inspections is spelled out right there, where it says "including batting and catcher's helmets, [and] bats."

I suppose one could include everything that is listed in Rule 1 of the book that is not specific to the field. That would include gloves, mitts, catcher's protective equipment, and fielder's face masks. There's also Rule 3-2-11 that says shoes are required equipment. I would never go that far, but if one wanted to, there's really nothing that precludes the inspection of all those items.

As far as the extra gear I happen to see in the dugout, which is almost always invariably bats that are sticking out of bat bags, I tell the coach those need to be put out as well. I can't recall anyone giving me grief about it. But if they do, then, yes, I would say that we are within our authority to warn and then restrict for failing to respond to my request. IMO, I can use 3-6-1, and claim that until I inspect those bats, I will consider them illegal, and that if the coach doesn't allow for them to be removed or made legal (by allowing me to inspect them), then the Penalty allows me to warn and eventually restrict to the bench. I can't imagine a coach would take it that far.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by Manny A

...IMO, I can use 3-6-1, and claim that until I inspect those bats, I will consider them illegal, and that if the coach doesn't allow for them to be removed or made legal (by allowing me to inspect them), then the Penalty allows me to warn and eventually restrict to the bench. I can't imagine a coach would take it that far.

I can't imagine a coach would take it that far, either, but that does not mean you are not overstepping your authority.

You reference 3-6-1, well, that rule says, in part, "Team personnel shall wear or use legal and/or required equipment."

Wear or use

It does not say anything about hanging in a bag in the dugout, nor does it say that all equipment not intended to be used in the game must be kept out of sight.

[BretMan]

This came up last weekend...

Doing equipment inspection and see a half dozen bats in the dugout.

Me: Coach, you need to get all of your bats out here.

Coach: We only put the bats we use out here.

Me: (Pointing to bats in dugout) If I can see it, then we have to inspect it.

Coach gets the other bats...

I'm about a dozen games into the high school season and, so far, I have heard some variation of this phrase from three or four of my partners: "We're not allowed to go into the dugouts anymore".

The rule says that the umpires aren't "required" to go into the dugouts to check equipment. Somehow that's getting translated into "dugouts verboten!". I haven't seen anything that makes a dugout off limits to us.

[UmpireErnie]

Originally Posted by BretMan

I'm about a dozen games into the high school season and, so far, I have heard some variation of this phrase from three or four of my partners: "We're not allowed to go into the dugouts anymore".

The rule says that the umpires aren't "required" to go into the dugouts to check equipment. Somehow that's getting translated into "dugouts verboten!". I haven't seen anything that makes a dugout off limits to us.

This is a good example of something a coach may say that a good official simply can "fail to hear". With the equipment inspection taking place outside the team area now there is very little reason for us to be in there anyhow. Outside of sitting in an empty dugout waiting on team playing on another field or the occasional field that requires passing thru the team area to exit the field why would you need to go in there? And since you don't need to go in there why let it be a thing with a coach. That just starts the game off on edge for no reason.

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by Dakota

I can't imagine a coach would take it that far, either, but that does not mean you are not overstepping your authority.

You reference 3-6-1, well, that rule says, in part, "Team personnel shall wear or use legal and/or required equipment."

Wear or use

It does not say anything about hanging in a bag in the dugout, nor does it say that all equipment not intended to be used in the game must be kept out of sight.

Well, I look at it as preventive umpiring. If it's in the dugout, there's the very real possibility that a player will use it. Otherwise, why bring it into the dugout in the first place?

What do you do when you find a piece of illegal equipment? Do you allow the team to keep it in the dugout? The rule book says that equipment shall be removed. I interpret "removed" as out of the dugout so that it doesn't make its way into the game. So under that authority, I will ask that bats not intended to be used in the game should also be removed.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by Skahtboi

I was just getting ready to post the same things. Well done. Seems you always beat me to it, even when we both take off massive amounts of time from the forum!

Ha ha... Cecil woke me up in the nick of time!