Ground Rules/Pre-Game Coaches' Conference

[Andy]

Originally Posted by KSRef

At our State H.S. rules meeting last night (Kansas) we were instructed to record the number of bats we inspected before the game. At the home plate conference we are to advise the coach of how many bats we checked and ask him/her if that is correct. "Coach we checked 10 bats is that all of them?" With the increased penalty for players using illegal bats (player AND coach ejection) they want to be sure the coach has an opportunity to let us know if we got them all.

In AZ, we request that the team have all of their bats and helmets put outside the dugout for inspection. It is not required, but most teams do it. Umpires are instructed not to enter dugouts to inspect equipment, if a bat or helmet is seen inside the dugout, we politely ask the coach to bring it out for us. If the response is "Oh, we don't use that bat", we let it go.

Personally - I'm with Steve...this is the coach's responsibility and I have a rule book that tells me what to do if the rule concerning bats is violated.