Glove: Legal or Illegal?

[Umpteenth]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

Picture the free end of the zip tie pushed through the female end thereby completing the tie. The free end is then cut off about 1/8th of an inch past the female end of the zip tie. I think that everybody knows that as designed the zip tie is quite flexible, when it is cut so close the the locking portion of the zip tie, the edges of the tie are quite sharp.

Yesterday after MTD, Jr.'s and my last game in an ASA girls' fastpitch tournament I noticed that one of the player's gloves, rather than using leather laces to keep the glove's fingers to together, she used three zip ties instead. The female ends of the zip ties were on the outside of the glove's fingers and the male end of the zip tie was cut off about 1/8 of an inch past the female part of the zip tie.

My question is: Is this glove legal? And is it safe? The outside of the glove's fingers is the side of the glove that tags the runner about 99.999,999% of the time and if it came in contact with a runner's arm or face in a sweeping motion the sharp edges of the plastic could scratch or cut the runner.

What say you everybody?

MTD, Sr.

I've worked with and around these plastic tie-wraps for 20 years, and I can tell you that a 1/8-inch tail is very sharp and can be quite dangerous. I have seen arm wounds that require stitches. In my field, these injuries are caused when someone reaches into an equipment cabinet and is cut by the extended tail. I shudder to think what might happen from a swipe tag against bare skin.

The glove may be legal, but if I were to see it, I would ask for the tie-wraps to be flush cut before I would allow it to be used.

[RadioBlue]

Sometimes, you gotta umpire. We're out there to protect the integrity of the game and the safety of the participants. I would have no problem with an umpire who deems this glove dangerous and bans it from the game. In fact, I just might be one of those umpires. If I can avoid being dragged into court, I will. If the team protests and the UIC gets involved, so be it. Then it's on him/her and not me.