Moving the bat
 

Batter puts the ball in play, bat comes to rest straddling the path of all potential scorers (as it does 100 times a game).
Does anyone here pull the thing out of the way? Ever? Only when it's safe to do so? Always? Absolutely never?

Never :eek:, but I will warn the oncoming runner. :cool:

Ive always been told to leave the bat alone. Once it is out of the batters hands and on the field it becomes a part of the field. If the catcher wants it moved, let them move it.

Same here. To do otherwise runs the risk of not being able to do it 1 time and creating the impression that you are helping 1 team but not the other.

If I can, I'll warn an incoming runner to watch for the bat.

I used to but was informed by a local UIC to quit doing it. The reason given was the equipment (bat/catchers mask) is part of the game and if someone get hurts because it is where it is when it landed after it's use then we are covered. But if we move it and some one gets hurt we could be liable.

What I found interesting as I transitioned to softball from that other sport with the small white ball is how 180 out the communities feel about this. In that other sport, we were told that if we could do it, move the bat, usually by bending down while watching play and sliding the bat back between the legs. In softball, however, we were instructed never to touch it.

Hell, I was even castigated when I picked up a bat after an inning ended and handed it to a player or coach as they headed for the dugout.

Never touch the bat during play.

Manny getting yelled at for helping out between innings is kind of stupid (on the part of the person who yelled at him).

I have been told this same thing....

The rationale is that if you take the opportunity to pick up a bat between innings for one team, and the next inning you don't have the same opportunity for whatever reason, it can be seen as favoritism toward one team.

The guy that told me this said that he would rather be thought a jerk by BOTH teams for not picking up the bat. He also advises not to touch the ball between innings, like pick it up and hand it to the pitcher...some pitchers and players are very superstitious about the ball...don't touch it! :rolleyes:

What the old white guy said....

No, for multiple reasons.

To start, it isn't my bat.
Second, a discarded bat becomes part of the field
Third, your attention should be on the ball, runners & defenders, not on the bat
Fourth, as noted, if you do it for one, but better do it for both, every time.
Fifth, is you move it, just where are you going to move it to with assurance it will not become part of the play? Can you imagine the crap you will here (and test of your insurance) if you move a bat to an area which the play goes and a player trips over a bat YOU placed there?
Sixth, and most important, it still isn't my bat.

Does the ODB's discarded bat(s) become part of the field? I.E. She drops the bat in the circle to move towards HP to direct a runner.

If a thrown ball hits that bat or a fielder trips on that bat while retrieving a loose ball, does it warrant a blocked ball and/or interference call?

Thanx.

No such thing as a discarded bat from the ODB. All items, including any bats on the ODC are the responsibility of the ODB

MTD, Jr., and I both umpire baseball and fast pitch softball and neither of us have ever moved a bat in either sport.

MTD, Sr.

Understanding that rules are different for baseball/softball, does baseball, and specifically MLB, have rules for "stuff" in the OD circle?

Many times I see catchers having to tiptoe through bats, warm-up devices, rags, etc., while trying to catch a foul ball. If they trip over any of that, is there rule recourse?

Thanx.

Safely, carefully and cautiously remove the bat.

It is more reasonable and prudent for a trained adult to do this than an amateur athlete.

Forget the 5 lines of BS that the old guard tells you. They lack common sense, legal intelligence and normal standards of care. The arguments they put forth are nonsense that has been passed down to them over the years and they have done a disservice to all by perpetuating such illogical and unreasonable thinking.