ASA Illegal/Non-approved bat approved by umpire
 

Hey, guys,

This was brought up on another forum. Let's say that during the pre-game equipment inspection, the umpire looks at a Freak Plus and approves it for that game. Two innings later, a batter steps into the box, hits the ball, and reaches 1B. Before the next pitch, the DC brings it to the attention of the umpire that a non-approved bat was used.

Do you call the out, eject the runner and return runners? Or do you let play stand and toss the bat?

Either way, I suspect an @$$-chewing is in order, and rightfully so. Question is: who gets to do the chewing? OC or DC (later followed by UIC)? :D

I don't see how the umpire's mistake could supercede the rule book. The penalties are clearly prescribed for the situation.

The interesting part of this is that you are making a judgement that may not come back to bite you until later in the game. Other than that, I say that you handle it by the rule.

Once the non-approved bat is brought to your attention by the defensive team, you apply the proper rule....Batter is out and ejected, runners return.

You tell the offensive coach that you blew it in the pregame inspection, but the bottom line is that it is still a non-approved bat and not legal for play. Let him (deservedly) rant for a bit, then continue with the game.

Oh, yeah...and prepare for the a**-chewing by your UIC also!

Though the umpire's manual instructs the umpires to check the equipment, failure to do so or making an error in judgment at this point is not a matter of rule. I've always considered the inspection as much a courtesy and preventive umpiring as it is an assigned duty. When it comes right down to it, insuring all equipment used is legal and/or approved by the sanctioning body is the responsibility of the team and players. A piece of illegal/non-approved equipment being missed, overlooked or not presented for inspection does not magically make that piece of equipment legal for that game.

Now, if the umpire was specifically asked to check a particular bat and errored in judgment and told the player the bat's use was permissible, I could understand if the umpire ruled on the out, but did not eject the player using the non-approved bat. Any resistence from the coaches or players will make further action easy.:rolleyes:

As a UIC, I would applaud your Solomonesque resolution to the problem. And then I would ask WTF you were thinking when you told the player s/he could use that bat!!!:D

One more reason I scrutinize every single bat, even in rec league. If it ain't legal, get it the f*** out of the dugout! ;)

For better or worse, I'm proud to have the reputation of being the pickiest damn umpire in our crew when it comes to the bats. I wear it as a badge of honor.

In my opinion, if an umpire fails to check the bats at the beginning of the game, then they are blindly and in blanket-fashion telling the team, "I approve of all of your equipment." There is no excuse for not checking bats at the beginning of the game (unless it's an outlaw league/tourney).

An umpire should get his/her @$$ CHEWED if they fail at that one basic task. That's just plain laziness, and it completely opens them up in terms of liability should someone get hurt when an illegal or non-approved piece of equipment is used. Just plain irresponsible.

We were once instructed at our annual rules clinic by the state UIC that for routine league games, if it looked like a bat, it was legel.

:eek::confused::eek:

I hope s/he has a good lawyer.

No, because there is no inventory. There is absolutely nothing documented. For as much as anyone knows, that particular bat was not presented for inspection. Are you going to go through their equipment bag?

No, but I have told players to bring out every single bat they have in the dugout. Don't care if they're going to use it or not, it's going to get inspected.

See if anyone can guess what ASA district commissioner in Pennsylvania doesn't want umpires to waste time by inspecting equipment:rolleyes:

So if a bat wasn't inspected pre-game (say, the player showed up after you did the inspection), you're not allowing it to be used? (Not trying to be a snot, but a devil's advocate)

If it's league, I'll inspect it as the batter comes up to bat, so long as I can do so quickly while keeping the game moving. It will take longer to tell them to get another bat and listen to their sob story than it would for me to just inspect it. If it's tourney, there'd better be a darn good reason why it wasn't available pre-game.

If a player approaches me when they step into the box and says, "hey, I showed up late, I'd like you to look at this for me," I'll usually oblige them. They're acting in good faith in attempting to follow the rules, and if the bat's no good, I'll just have them get another bat. No biggie.

And if they don't?

How do you know if a player keeps a bat in his/her bag?

NCASA is a crusader on a mission. :cool:

:D