Baseball: Coaches, not umpires, now responsible for verifying equipment

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Before high school baseball games, umpires have been responsible for inspecting bats and helmets to see if they were legal and safe.

But a new national federation rule assigns that responsibility to coaches. Umpires will ask coaches before games to confirm that their teams are using legal equipment, and the liability will be on the coach if there’s a problem.

‘It’s not a big deal,’ Harvard-Westlake Coach Matt LaCour said. ‘I wouldn’t send a player out on the field with sub-standard equipment.’

-- Eric Sondheimer