Last Week's Question:
Do you know what is considered to be an altered bat? A player can get in a world of trouble for using an altered bat, and sometimes you may not even realize that you have done something illegal. One of the things that umpires look for when they come into your dugout before a game and inspect your equipment is the presence of altered bats. But if that bat isn't detected, or it "mistakenly" gets taken out of your bag after the umpire's pre-game visit, you can be called out or in some cases ejected from the game.
Can you think of any modifications that could be done to a bat that would make it "altered"?
The moral of the story is to check your rule book or ask an umpire about putting something on your bat before you go ahead and do it just to be sure that it is still legal. And NEVER buy a bat that has been cut open for any reason or altered in any way.
This Week's Question:
A runner is on first base, and the batter hits sharp one out to right field (the kind of hit that slower runners dread...). As the runner is approaching second and thinking of maybe heading to third, the shortstop (who is at second base) makes it look the ball is coming in and goes to tag the runner. This causes the runner to slow down and slide into the base. This would be fine, except the ball is over at first base and was never thrown to second. Is this a smart (and sneaky) play or is it illegal?
Do you know what is considered to be an altered bat? A player can get in a world of trouble for using an altered bat, and sometimes you may not even realize that you have done something illegal. One of the things that umpires look for when they come into your dugout before a game and inspect your equipment is the presence of altered bats. But if that bat isn't detected, or it "mistakenly" gets taken out of your bag after the umpire's pre-game visit, you can be called out or in some cases ejected from the game.
Can you think of any modifications that could be done to a bat that would make it "altered"?
The Answer:
Here are some things that can change the physical structure of a legal bat and make it illegal to use in a game:
- replacing the handle of metal bat with a wooden or other type of handle
- painting a bat at the top or bottom for purposes other than identification
- inserting material inside the bat
- applying excessive amounts of tape or grip around a bat handle (more than two layers)
- a "flare" or "cone" grip attached to a bat
- engraved markings for ID purposes on the barrel of a bat
Keep in mind, these things are LEGAL:
- replacing the grip with another legal grip
- engraving ID markings on the knob end
- using a laser to etch markings for ID purposes anywhere on the bat
This Week's Question:
A runner is on first base, and the batter hits sharp one out to right field (the kind of hit that slower runners dread...). As the runner is approaching second and thinking of maybe heading to third, the shortstop (who is at second base) makes it look the ball is coming in and goes to tag the runner. This causes the runner to slow down and slide into the base. This would be fine, except the ball is over at first base and was never thrown to second. Is this a smart (and sneaky) play or is it illegal?
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