Legal Safety Grip?

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by EsqUmp

You are way off. http://forum.officiating.com/images/icons/icon13.gif Obviously the manufacturer can make whatever bat they want. The question is whether it will obtain ASA approval. What you can and cannot do with a bat handle are outlined by the rules. You can replace the grip but you cannot cut it in half even if it remains 6 - 15 inches. It's absurd to think you could do that.

Uhhh, no.

I think you're focusing and over-applying the old rule where if the grip tape formed a cone or flare, the bat was considered altered. This is no longer the case. And even prior to 2010, having too short a grip or too long a grip was not considered altering the bat - it was simply illegal.

You said it yourself, the grip can legally be replaced by the owner of the bat. If the tape on the bat doesn't comply with 3-1-D, it is NOT an altered bat, it's an ILLEGAL bat. They haven't changed the physical characteristics of the bat, as the grip is not a permanent component of the bat. Therefore, moving said grip is not altering the bat. Period.

Please read the definitions of an "altered bat" and an "illegal bat" in Rule 1, then ask yourself, "how is a bat with an insufficient grip an altered bat?"

I seriously hope you haven't tossed someone in the last 2 years over how they taped their bat. If so, you owe them an apology.