Move the Bat or Not to Move the Bat

[bucketdaddy]

Back in the day when I umpired, I was told not to touch the bat. If I was to toss the bat out of the way, and a player was to trip over and break an ankle, I had better prepare for a lawsuit. You know how the parents just love the umpires.

[sftblldud]

Catcher would remove the bat, but... If bat has a chance to be in line with the throw, then the Catcher would move the bat(Grab it and throw it out of the way, or just kick it out of the way). If the bat is up the 3rd base line I would tell my catchers to leave it right where it is, that gives the runner an obstacle to either jump over or trip over.