Pitched Ball Lodges in Bat

[JonnyCat]

16 minutes ago, ArchAngel72 said:

let me add a twist.  You inspected that bat and had it removed from the game due to finding it cracked and the 3rd batter up comes to the plate and what happened in the OP happens.

Do you rule it a cracked bat or call him/her out because they disobeyed you and used a piece of equipment you had ruled out of the game?

You can't call the batter out as you have no rule support for that. A cracked bat is not an illegal bat. They just disobeyed a directive.

The only thing you can do is warn or eject. Depending on the circumstances and age group is how I'll make my decision. Probably just warn first.

[Richvee]

14 hours ago, maven said:

Non-broken bats do not allow a ball to lodge in the course of ordinary play.

But I'd probably go with a foul ball. No way I'm allowing the offense to benefit from that.

But there’s a chance the bat was fine ( or perhaps damage that we wouldn’t see under normal inspection) until the ball broke it. We cannot tell. We cannot hold the player or coach responsible for perhaps internal damage to the bat). In FED, I’d refer to this case play. Specifically (b)
 

1.3.5 SITUATION D:

 

The first baseman hits a home run with the bases empty using a bat that, while otherwise legal, has a small crack in the barrel. The plate umpire notices the crack: (a) as the batter enters the box; or (b) when the defense complains before the next pitch that it is an illegal bat.

 

RULING: In (a), the bat is illegal upon detection as the head coach had verified that all equipment was legal The first baseman is declared out and the penalties of 4-1-3b are applied to the head coach. In (b), the home run stands. The bat will be removed from the game. If the same bat were subsequently to be used later in the game, it would be subject to the illegal bat rule.

 

NOTE: In (a), if the plate umpire feels that the damage to the bat was done during the course of play during that game, the bat may be removed from the game, and replaced with no penalty to the offense. If the same bat were subsequently used later in the game, it would be subject to the illegal bat rule

[Tborze]

19 hours ago, Rich Ives said:

How does that make it illegal?

It no longer meets the required specifications 😉

 

[beerguy55]

20 hours ago, Rich Ives said:

How does that make it illegal?

Well, it would be illegal if he started the at bat that way.

 

[beerguy55]

On 4/28/2022 at 6:20 AM, ArchAngel72 said:

And there it is its an illegal bat due to not maintaining a performance standard for that division.

 

You cannot be serious if you do not think that bat was failed before the batter used it in his at bat. 

So, is every Major League play where the bat shatters the result of an illegal or faulty bat?

Fine, let's leave wooden bats out of this.

Composite bats (and hockey sticks) break due to metal fatigue...and until the moment they break (in most cases) there is zero indication that there is anything wrong with the bat - if you inspected the bat you'd see no cracks, no bends, nothing beyond normal wear and tear - you'd have to be able to examine it at the molecular level to know in advance that it's about to explode.

Even old-school aluminum bats can break without any prior defect...especially in colder temperatures.

 

Composite bats are even more prone/sensitive to the cold...if I recall correctly you really don't want to use a composite bat in anything under 5C/40F...even 50F might be pushing it.

[Rich Ives]

2 hours ago, Tborze said:

It no longer meets the required specifications 😉

 

But it did before if broke. 

[Tborze]

57 minutes ago, Rich Ives said:

But it did before if broke. 

I never said it didn’t.  I was referring to the condition after the fact, hence, there’s a ball stuck in it. 

[Vegas_Ump]

On 4/27/2022 at 6:09 AM, ArchAngel72 said:

Well down at my level  (LL)  I am going to go with 6.06 d.......

Heh that right there is why I check bats before the game.

I have taken several bats this year out of the game prior to it starting already due to cracks and damage and wrong certs on them. 

 

At the Little League level, you are usually issued a bat ring to check the bats.  There is a bit of a fallacy in the guidance you get from LL.  If the bat DOES NOT clear the ring, it cannot be used in the game. (Easy decision!)  But EVEN IF IT DOES clear the ring, it does not guarantee that the bat is still safe!  There might be cracks, flat spots, etc.  Even small imperfections like these could create a catastrophic disintegration of a bat.   And composite shards are dangerous (especially to the plate ump!)  

Again, looking at LL rules only.  Not sure what other guidance says at other levels.

Mike

Las Vegas

[The Man in Blue]

Before COVID I was doing a lot of digging into training of umpires to determine whether a "potentially damaged" bat is legal or not (specific to softball orgs).  We were still being required to check equipment and I was tossing bats left, right, and sideways for cracks, rattles, and wobbles.  Parents don't like it when their 10 year old daughter can't use the $500 bat they just bought.  Inevitably I was always told "It's just a sand rattle" (whatever that is) or "It rattled when we bought it" (you shouldn't have bought it).  All I could respond with is "I was trained that a rattle/wobble is a no-go whatever the cause is."  I started to get concerned at the decisions I was being asked to make with NO training beyond what the Old Fellers' Mini-clinics taught me.

What I found is nobody will talk about it.  Bat manufacturers will not talk to you let alone provide any guidance.  Orgs will not provide any guidance.  The only thing I could get is a guy who sells bats and thinks everything is OK, but even he wouldn't go on the record.

As for the call ... easy.  Dead bat strike.

[Kane Holland]

I just followed the baseball sport not long ago, I want to know how many players are there in all and how many members can be changed?

[Kane Holland]

A question that as far as I know cannot add players to the baseball field. When offensive and defensive players are on the field while playing baseball, their numbers must not exceed the norm due to the general structure of the game.

Edited May 26, 2022 by johnnyg08
disabling the link of the spammer

[Velho]

Oh Kane, you lovely AI you. You had just started to get better with your other post. Oh well, 1 step forward, 2 steps back. 

[The Man in Blue]

I, for one, would like to cordially welcome our first robo-ump to the forum!

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[Replacematt]

7 hours ago, The Man in Blue said:

I, for one, would like to cordially welcome our first robo-ump to the forum!

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Isn't that the tattoo on Fry's ass?