Allowing batters to change bats

[John Robertson]

This season I noticed quite a few batters, after being up for a pitch or two, deciding they want to switch bats.

When I played in the 1970s, it was standard protocol for the batters to tell the plate umpire, "I want to switch bats, okay?" I don't ever recall an umpire refusing this request.

Nowadays the players seem to simply walk back to the bench whenever they feel like it to switch bats without informing the umpire what is happening. I tend to quietly tell the player that, as a matter of courtesy, he/she should let me know what is happening before heading to the bench area to get a different bat.

I do recall from my playing days one or two umpires saying that they would allow only one bat change per at-bat--unless a bat broke, of course. (We used wooden bats in those days.)

I'd like to hear how other umpires deal with players who want to change bats during an at-bat. Do you let them change as often as they like and anytime they like?