How far is "too far?"

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by jr131981

umm, this wouldnt be the first time that a corporation has claimed their product would/wouldnt do XXXXX and they were wrong/lying.

That's fine, but it isn't the umpire's problem. That is purely a issue between the consumer and manufacturer.

i actually had a J2 (demarini juggernaut 2) end cap come off a month ago. i grabbed the bat, made sure it wasnt shaved, looked at the end cap to see if it had been messed with (most notably "pry marks"). nothing was wrong with the bat, but i told the team the bat had to be removed from the game.

What were you going to do if you found evidence there was an issue with the bat?

on a side note, while i wish bat manufacturers would just make an endcap that can be taken off in 1s so anyone can check to see if the bats shaved,

Why would you care? Do you know how many times you would be asked to check this bat or that? I'm there to umpire a ball game, not be a hall monitor for bats.

i will give some credit for the new utrip rules which have some sort of cap over the endcap to make it damn near impossible to take off.

A cap for a cap? If they cannot/do not make one secure, what makes you think the second will be?

If you really want to alleviate the situation, get rid of the end cap, period. Make them find a way to produce a bat that doesn't need and end cap.

[jr131981]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

That's fine, but it isn't the umpire's problem. That is purely a issue between the consumer and manufacturer.

flat out, i dont understand why anyone would think EVERY time an end cap comes off its bc the player did something to it. IMO, this isnt even debatable.

What were you going to do if you found evidence there was an issue with the bat?

apply the appropriate ruling

Why would you care? Do you know how many times you would be asked to check this bat or that? I'm there to umpire a ball game, not be a hall monitor for bats.

before your game, arent you supposed to check and see if the bats are ASA certified, if they fit in the bat ring, if they dont show dents or excessive wear, if they are rattling? why would you care about those things but not care if a bat was shaved? i dont understand your point

A cap for a cap? If they cannot/do not make one secure, what makes you think the second will be?

its sorta like a backup fail safe (superfluous on purpose) in case the glue comes undone the cap doesnt come off bc theres a piece of material also holding the cap on, or if someone wants to take the cap off, they would have to jimmy with this external cover and then jimmy with the actual cap.

its sorta like having the plastic cases around a fire alarm in a public building. first you have to open of the case, then pull the alarm. having the case prevents an accidental pull. having a cover on the endcap prevents someone from removing the cap without it being pretty f'n obvious, even to the untrained eye.

If you really want to alleviate the situation, get rid of the end cap, period. Make them find a way to produce a bat that doesn't need and end cap.

remind me again what your response to my suggestion that endcaps be easily removable so one can check easily if a bat is shaved? if you dont want to hall monitor bats, why would you want to have bats that are easily "hall monitored"

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by jr131981

flat out, i dont understand why anyone would think EVERY time an end cap comes off its bc the player did something to it. IMO, this isnt even debatable.

Not assuming anything, it is the rule.

apply the appropriate ruling

And that is?

before your game, arent you supposed to check and see if the bats are ASA certified, if they fit in the bat ring, if they dont show dents or excessive wear, if they are rattling? why would you care about those things but not care if a bat was shaved? i dont understand your point

Bat ring? Talk about outdated equipment. But why don't you take this out of context? My statement was a response to a comment of manufacturing. And yes, do you know how many times an umpire would be asked during the game to check a bat? And just who is going to train all these umpires what to look for once they take the end cap off? Nope, just have the bat made properly and there is no issue. BTW, trusting manufacturers to do things right? How did that recertification of bats process work out?

its sorta like a backup fail safe (superfluous on purpose) in case the glue comes undone the cap doesnt come off bc theres a piece of material also holding the cap on, or if someone wants to take the cap off, they would have to jimmy with this external cover and then jimmy with the actual cap.

its sorta like having the plastic cases around a fire alarm in a public building. first you have to open of the case, then pull the alarm. having the case prevents an accidental pull. having a cover on the endcap prevents someone from removing the cap without it being pretty f'n obvious, even to the untrained eye.

Here's a thought. I know this is contrary to the standard American laziness, but how about just making it right the first time and not having to worry about it down the road?

There have been space-age adhesives around for years. There is absolutely no excuse for the production of a substandard piece of equipment.

remind me again what your response to my suggestion that endcaps be easily removable so one can check easily if a bat is shaved? if you dont want to hall monitor bats, why would you want to have bats that are easily "hall monitored"

See response above. Umpires should not have to be babysitters for lazy manufacturers and cheating players. We are there to umpire a ball game. Checking equipment is not a problem, but nor does it provide absolution. IOW, it is basically a courtesy.

I'd just rather go to a low-compression 14" ball and let them use anything they can find to hit the damn thing.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

....I'd just rather go to a low-compression 14" ball and let them use anything they can find to hit the damn thing.

Then they'd just figure out ways to doctor the ball.

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by Dakota

Then they'd just figure out ways to doctor the ball.

"Figure out?"

Trust me, that was done long ago.

[jr131981]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Not assuming anything, it is the rule.




And that is?



Bat ring? Talk about outdated equipment. But why don't you take this out of context? My statement was a response to a comment of manufacturing. And yes, do you know how many times an umpire would be asked during the game to check a bat? And just who is going to train all these umpires what to look for once they take the end cap off? Nope, just have the bat made properly and there is no issue. BTW, trusting manufacturers to do things right? How did that recertification of bats process work out?



Here's a thought. I know this is contrary to the standard American laziness, but how about just making it right the first time and not having to worry about it down the road?

There have been space-age adhesives around for years. There is absolutely no excuse for the production of a substandard piece of equipment.



See response above. Umpires should not have to be babysitters for lazy manufacturers and cheating players. We are there to umpire a ball game. Checking equipment is not a problem, but nor does it provide absolution. IOW, it is basically a courtesy.

I'd just rather go to a low-compression 14" ball and let them use anything they can find to hit the damn thing.

i appreciate your responses to not only this thread but to all the threads, its obvious you have a wealth of knowledge.

but you did say that if the cap comes off a bat, that it "clearly suggests there has been an attempt to alter the bat."

i agree there definitely could be a better way to manufacture the bats, but companies dont do whats the best, they do whats the most profitable.

and btw, just last spring i purchased a brush that has a bat ring built in from my ASA office.

very similar to this one

Sport About Equipment : Allstar Umpire Plate Brush and Bat Ring PB3 [PB3] - $8.99

please dont fault me for buying what was stocked in my local ASA office.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by jr131981

i appreciate your responses to not only this thread but to all the threads, its obvious you have a wealth of knowledge.

but you did say that if the cap comes off a bat, that it "clearly suggests there has been an attempt to alter the bat."

No, I said that if you take everything that is supposed to occur, including the manufacturer meeting the specs to which they agreed and a cap comes off, then it would suggest it was done to alter the bat.

If you are going to take everything out of context, please let me know now so I can save the keystrokes after this post.

i agree there definitely could be a better way to manufacture the bats, but companies dont do whats the best, they do whats the most profitable.

Then they should charge more to meet THEIR promise to meet the specs or not produce bats they say do. In some circles, failing to meet the specs intentionally would be considered fraudulent.

and btw, just last spring i purchased a brush that has a bat ring built in from my ASA office.

That's fine, but they are relatively useless since ASA eliminated the allowance for dents and dings.

very similar to this one

Sport About Equipment : Allstar Umpire Plate Brush and Bat Ring PB3 [PB3] - $8.99

please dont fault me for buying what was stocked in my local ASA office.

No, if you had purchased the brush from Sport About Equipment, I would fault you for paying $2 more than what Official Gear sells it. Then again, you can buy a $4 brush and I have never paid for a bat ring. For that matter, I've got a couple hundred bat rings that I cannot give away.

[NCASAUmp]

I'm still of the camp that believes that bat rings still serve a purpose, albeit a very narrow one now. While they are no longer necessary to detect dents in a bat, they can be useful to spot a bat that has been poorly painted or has deceptive decals.

This won't stop a bat that has been visited by a decent enough bat doctor, but it can catch the fly-by-night bat doctors.

I still keep them in my bag. Feel free to send them my way.

[Gulf Coast Blue]

Originally Posted by jr131981

i appreciate your responses to not only this thread but to all the threads, its obvious you have a wealth of knowledge.

but you did say that if the cap comes off a bat, that it "clearly suggests there has been an attempt to alter the bat."

i agree there definitely could be a better way to manufacture the bats, but companies dont do whats the best, they do whats the most profitable.

and btw, just last spring i purchased a brush that has a bat ring built in from my ASA office.

very similar to this one

Sport About Equipment : Allstar Umpire Plate Brush and Bat Ring PB3 [PB3] - $8.99

please dont fault me for buying what was stocked in my local ASA office.

I don't think that Mike was implying that any bat that had an endcap issue was altered, but that it no longer fit the rule of a legal bat.

That being said.......the old Anderson bats back in the late 90's early 2000's were notorious for having rivets that started to protrude......my association allowed them to be pushed back in with no penalty. I think that is the way most places dealt with that issue.

Anderson tackled that issue and as far as I am aware, it is no longer a problem.

I do agree that there are adhesives that are currently available, that will never come loose........the bat companies need to do their part to make sure that their endcaps should not ever separate.

Joel