Bat in the way

[Andy]

Personally, I don't touch bats during the game. A discarded bat is part of the playing field and there are rules written to handle situation that come up with the discarded bat.

If I kick it out of the way or pick it up and toss it aside, I run the risk of hitting someone with it and I don't need that headache or liability.

I have also seen some umpires pick up the discarded bat after the third out and hand it to the coach or player as they head to the dugout. I won't do this either, because it may be convienent for me to do so for one team at the end of an inning, but not the other. I don't need to give any impression that I am favoring one team over another.