Bats

[Dakota]

This is a difficult discussion for me to engage, since I call only ASA JO, including a lot of league and rec level ball.

I suspect there is a big difference between adult players and 16U and under on this topic.

Most of the complaining I have heard has not been about the safety issue per se, but it has been about making bats illegal when the identical bat with the stamp is legal. Parents don't want to spend the extra money for a stamp. They would spend the money if they truly thought it was a safety issue. But to retire a perfectly good Louisville 555 (or whatever) just to buy another one with a stamp is a tough sell.

As an umpire, I don't like the ASA wimping out on following through by defining it as umpire judgment. After all, the only way I can tell if the bat is legal is by what is stamped or painted on the bat.