Bat Removed From Game

[SoCal_Dad]

OP said it rattled when struck against his hand. ...

No, he didn't. OP said it didn't rattle, just makes the usual distinctive sound when hit.

The bat is a couple month old Louisville LXT and has no rattles.

I go out to the umpire to discuss with him, and state that all LXTs and Xenos make a distinctive "clack" sound when they are hit. I demonstrate this with her bat by hitting it against my hand

You should be familiar with the sound they make if you're an active umpire. Do you consider it a rattle?

 

[eddieq]

No, he didn't. OP said it didn't rattle, just makes the usual distinctive sound when hit.

Going by this statement:

I demonstrate this with her bat by hitting it against my hand

I gathered that the bat made the same noise the umpire heard and he called it a rattle.

You should be familiar with the sound they make if you're an active umpire. Do you consider it a rattle?

I am familiar with the sound when the bat strikes the ball. I don't generally consider that a rattle. I didn't hear this particular bat. Personally, if it sounded funny to me, I'd have picked it up, shook it, maybe rapped it against my fist a few times and made my determination from there. I don't know what was in that umpire's mind other than that he said it rattled (based on the OP). If it rattles, it's gone.

We can go round and round on this about the sound that "they all make" and if the umpires are familiar with the sound or not. Since none of us other than the OP were there, it's tough to determine exactly what the umpire heard and when. Bottom line is that he determined it had a rattle (whether or not the rattle was the normal sound the bat makes when striking a ball) and, by rule, removed the bat from the game.

Separately, from the OP, he said he tried to demonstrate "to no avail". If I have removed a bat from the game and someone other than a coach, my partner or UIC comes to talk to me about it, I'm not engaging with them on it. If it's a parent coming onto the field to argue with me, they are going to the parking lot or risk having their team forfeit.

 

[ScottyDont]

Going by this statement:


Separately, from the OP, he said he tried to demonstrate "to no avail". If I have removed a bat from the game and someone other than a coach, my partner or UIC comes to talk to me about it, I'm not engaging with them on it. If it's a parent coming onto the field to argue with me, they are going to the parking lot or risk having their team forfeit.

I am a coach on the team. There was no argument, just a discussion of the fact that the bat had no rattle (I did shake it to make sure) and the demonstration of the *CLACK* that all LXTs make on impact. I did not want the bat to be removed from the game because she does not have a spare bat in that size and none of her teammates do either.

My question was whether there was something else I could have done to keep the bat in play. Sounds like the answer is "no".

 

[eddieq]

I am a coach on the team. There was no argument, just a discussion of the fact that the bat had no rattle (I did shake it to make sure) and the demonstration of the *CLACK* that all LXTs make on impact. I did not want the bat to be removed from the game because she does not have a spare bat in that size and none of her teammates do either.

My question was whether there was something else I could have done to keep the bat in play. Sounds like the answer is "no".

Thanks for the clarification. Ejection rescinded

Again, not knowing what he heard and not being in his head, it's hard to judge, but realistically if he has determined that the bat is gone because he heard a rattle, there really isn't anything you can do at that point. It's a judgement call and not really a misapplication of a rule, so it's really not even a protest situation. Sorry it happened to you.

 

[quincy]

After following this thread for the last couple days that was my conclusion too.

I think you did everything you could, heck you even got the opposing coach to agree with you.

 

[YOCOACH]

No umpire that is working an ASA tournament should be unfamiliar with the sound of a Xeno or LXT hitting the ball.

Apparently this one was.

 

[smddad]

As for wobbles, those purple Easton Stealth's were famous for "lighting up" about the time they started to wobble. That wobble makes them illegal, though, and should properly be removed.

This pic was floating around another board from a national tournament where several were removed from play for just that reason:

This doesn't make want to rush out and buy an Easton product.

 

[Comp]

This doesn't make want to rush out and buy an Easton product.

That was from 4 or 5 years ago. Have not seen any problems since then in the joint of any of the Easton bats.

 

[eddieq]

That was from 4 or 5 years ago. Have not seen any problems since then in the joint of any of the Easton bats.

Agreed - the early stealths with that connexion piece were notorious for wobble/clicking. I haven't seen any of the newer ones with that issue. They seem to have gotten it fixed.

 

[JAD]

Some umpire's who are unfamiliar with the bat and it's distinctive sounds when hit will often declare them broken and remove them from play. Just because they don't know these bats does not mean they are correct. In this case, "they all do that" is valid.

Hard to believe there is an umpire out there who has never heard a Xeno considering they came out in 2011 and are EXTREMELY popular, at least in our area. I think 11 of the 13 girls on our team swing a Xeno or LXT.