ASA Gold National Umpires Confiscate 50% of Some Teams Bats

[GSB]

Before you get all worked up you should know Easton Synergys bats (white and purple) develop small hair size cracks in the white portion of the bat above the black rubber collar. This is enough for the blue to confiscate a bat. Nobody altered this bat. This is normal wear and tear. No rolling or shaving or anything dubious. I’ve also seen dented Rocket Techs from normal wear and tear. This is also enough for a blue to confiscate the bat.
Did it ever occur to you that if you take a favorite bat from a player in the middle of a championship tournament that this might affect her performance?
I my opinion the ASA officials are going over board on this one, by confiscating bats for these small defects.

Its the Stealth not the Synergy.

I bought the CF3 for my DD and it has been a great bat. After about 3 months normal wear and tear, it already had cracks and chunks missing in some areas of the bat. No rolling or shaving involved, but would expect it to be pulled during championship play. DD just loves the bat but for $300 you would think it would be a bit more durable.

I totally understand umpires being strict on this issue. I have no problem with bats being taken that are "in doubt". More serious injuries result from idiots rolling/shaving bats. After witnessing a girl take a line drive to the neck from a girl with a shaved bat. I believe that ASA should go one step further and make a lifetime ban on any girl and their coach, if caught using a rolled/shaved bat.

[Hawk17]

Before you get all worked up you should know Easton Synergys bats (white and purple) develop small hair size cracks in the white portion of the bat above the black rubber collar. This is enough for the blue to confiscate a bat. Nobody altered this bat. This is normal wear and tear. No rolling or shaving or anything dubious. I’ve also seen dented Rocket Techs from normal wear and tear. This is also enough for a blue to confiscate the bat.
Did it ever occur to you that if you take a favorite bat from a player in the middle of a championship tournament that this might affect her performance?
I my opinion the ASA officials are going over board on this one, by confiscating bats for these small defects.

The purple and white Easton is the Stealth, and they did confiscate my daughters for cracks above the black rubber collar at the Colorado Fireworks ( after she had played all week with it and it had been checked already. ) They confiscated it in our last game. And you are right, nobody altered the bat.

Agreed, but I guess they do what they are told. I just wondered why a bat that was okay all week was confiscated in our last game.

[Goldball4]

The problem stands with the Father's of these young ladies. I seriously doubt the girls are telling daddy to go get my bat shaved. The Easton bat "was" the easiest bat to shave. The end cap could easily be replaced. All they did was snap into the grooves. Now easton has a new cap, and the wear protection on them. Why do you think those old Eastons go for over 400 dollars a bat on ebay? If you don't think some of these girls are swinging shaved bats, then you have your head somewhere the sun don't shine. Rolling is just a little problem with those bats, shaving is the biggest! Rolling just gets the bat broken in, shaving makes the bat hotter than shiite!

[Hawk17]

My poor daughter.... she has been deprived. Her father only shaves in the morning and he MIGHT be able to roll a bowling ball!

[wadeintothem]

Fastpitch fool and sarge are on the right track. Why are $300 bats rejected because of normal wear and tear? How can bat makers produce bats that do not withstand normal use? But I think Sarge is right. There is alot more going on here. Dads have found the old bats or new bats that can be rolled for higher performance. I wonder if the Demarini bats are easy to roll. Adult slowpitch sees the rolling problem with most of their bats. There is something not right here. ASA should at minimum threaten players and teams with sanctions for using altered bats. And, they should disclose which teams had a high number of bats rejected.

Or another option is to simply stop policing bats. If someone gets injured or killed, test the bat and charge the parent with manslaughter or something and allow the civil suits to reign upon em, but leave the umpires to umpiring. Let the TD's and coaches take responsibility for that stuff.

IMO, umps checking them actually makes umpires MORE liable than we would be if we didnt check them. Its like we are saying "this bat is good". Pfffft! How do I know? I mean really? Have I had a bat engineering class? No. I couldnt tell a rolled bat if it came to me right in the ebay wrapper. Leave the responsibility on those doing the rolling and cheating and leave the umps out of it.

Then we dont have to listen to the sniveling and we can stop doing the lamest job we do at nationals, check bats and helmets that have been checked 45 times and obviously played with all year and will be played with all next year. Its a total waste of time. I dont even know why we check helmets either for that matter.

I personnally do not enjoy taking a bat. If its marginal, I tell them its marginal and dont be surprised if it gets taken, but I'm not taking it. If I have to take it because it simply CANT pass.. then it has to go. I dont look TO pull a bat. I check equipment and if somethings wrong by rule that cant be fixed, then it has to go.

I say keep your broken @$$ cracked stealths and play until they snap in half and your screw missing helmets, put a big hoop ear ring in your nose, a gold choker on your neck, metal cleats, and have at it. I'll be over here calling balls and strikes. Dont get any blood on my shirt and its all good.

[GSB]

[/quote]
Agreed, but I guess they do what they are told. I just wondered why a bat that was okay all week was confiscated in our last game.[/quote]

They should confiscate any bat in doubt at any time. As posted earlier, they have folks rolling and shaving bats out in the parking lot during tournaments.

Wade is right, umpires should not be the ones doing the inspections. Seems to me that a trained person should be given the job. Not some guy because he is wearing a blue shirt. Umpires have a tough enough job as it is. Why now put the added pressure of pulling bats and pissing off parents on them. There are plenty of bat gurus running around that would be willing to do the jobs for $100. Let them wear a yellow T-shirt so there is no mistaking them for umpires.

[jth1959]

DD played 16U Eastern Nationals this year and I noticed the blue would zero in on the Easton Stealth and DeMarini CF3. They would look closely at the handle/barrel connection, even the tiniest crack or paint chip and it was out. All the other bats got a quick look. I asked the blue about it and he said they know both have a problem at the connection so they look more closely at them.

[wadeintothem]

DD played 16U Eastern Nationals this year and I noticed the blue would zero in on the Easton Stealth and DeMarini CF3. They would look closely at the handle/barrel connection, even the tiniest crack or paint chip and it was out. All the other bats got a quick look. I asked the blue about it and he said they know both have a problem at the connection so they look more closely at them.

Everyone does that. Put out 12 bats, 8 Synergy's 3 rocket techs and 1 stealth, and see which one gets picked up first 99% of the time. The player owners of stealths know too.. they come watch with their puppy dog eyes and are so relieved it actually passes!

[jth1959]

DD didn't even bother bringing the CF3 which had paint chipped at the connection. I sent it back to DeMarini and they sent a CF4 in return, it arrived the day after we left for Nationals. Had to use the old blue synergy.

[YplayAwhenucanplayB]

Why are teams being busted at Nationals and not at the qualifiers???