Be the Referee: Wooden Bats
May 19, 2016
This week, MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl explains how wooden bats can be used in high school baseball and softball.
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment - Wooden Bats - Listen
You’re out at your next local high school baseball or softball game, and you see one of the hitters step up to home plate, and they wish to use a wood bat. Is this legal?
The answer is yes. Wood bats in both baseball and softball are legal.
Now they’re most commonly seen in professional baseball, but wood bats can also be used at the amateur level.
When players in either sport wish to use an aluminum or non-wood bat, each of those metal bats must have the proper certification mark. With the proper certification mark, those non-wood baseball and softball bats are also legal. These must be checked by umpires during every game.
Past editions:
May 12: Baseball Pitch Counts - Listen
May 5: Home Run or Not? - Listen
April 28: Norris Award Winner Linda Hoover - Listen
April 21: Legacy Program - Listen
April 14: Baseball/Softball Replay - Listen
March 24: Use of the Monitor - Listen
March 17: Block/Charge - Listen
March 10: Ball Stuck on the Rim - Listen
March 3: Three Seconds - Listen
Feb. 25: Deciding the Game - Listen
Feb. 18 : Cheer Safety - Listen
Feb. 11: Primary Areas - Listen
Feb. 4: Block/Charge Calls - Listen
Jan. 28: Dive on the Floor - Listen
Jan. 21: Hockey Officials' Options - Listen
Jan. 14: Recruiting Officials - Listen
Jan. 7: Wrestling Weight Monitoring - Listen
Dec. 31: Respect for Referees - Listen
Dec. 24: Basketball Instant Replay - Listen
Dec. 17: Basketball Communication - Listen
Dec. 10: Basketball Excessive Contact - Listen
Nov. 26: Pregame Communication - Listen
Nov. 19: Trick Plays - Listen
Nov. 12: 7-Person Football Mechanics - Listen
Nov. 5: Make the Call: Personal Fouls - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Demographics - Listen
Oct. 15: Make the Call: Intentional Grounding - Listen
Oct. 8: Playoff Selection - Listen
Oct. 1: Kick Returns - Listen
Sept. 24: Concussions - Listen
Sept. 17: Automatic First Downs - Listen
Sept. 10: Correcting a Down - Listen
Sept 3: Spearing - Listen
Aug. 27: Missed Field Goal - Listen
Making the Right Calls for 50 years
May 7, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Lyle Berry began this track season with about 10-12 events on his officiating schedule.
But when administrators he’s known for decades called for help, that slate quickly doubled in size for this year’s MHSAA Vern L. Norris Award winner.
The Rockford resident has been an official for more than a half century, and was honored for his service at Saturday’s annual Officials’ Awards & Alumni Banquet at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.
Second Half caught up with Berry a few minutes before he left for another track meet Monday. Click for our Q&A session, including conversation about what keeps him coming back every season and how he continues to mentor and recruit of new officials.
Berry has been a long-time member of both the West Michigan Officials Association and the Association of Track Officials of Michigan. He received ATOM’s Presidential Leadership Award in 2009 and its Bob Bloomer Award in 2010. Berry was the WMOA Basketball Official of the Year in 1988. Next month he'll return to the Division 3 Track and Field Finals, and later this month will officiate Division 1 and 2 Regionals.
Previous recipients of the Norris Award are:
1992 – Ted Wilson, East Detroit
1993 – Fred Briggs, Burton
1994 – Joe Brodie, Flat Rock
1995 – Jim Massar, Flint
1996 – Jim Lamoreaux, St. Ignace
1997 – Ken Myllyla, Escanaba
1998 – Blake Hagman, Kalamazoo
1999 – Richard Kalahar, Jackson
2000 – Barb Beckett, Traverse City; Karl Newingham, Bay City
2001 – Herb Lipschultz, Kalamazoo
2002 – Robert Scholie, Hancock
2003 – Ron Nagy, Hazel Park
2004 – Carl Van Heck, Grand Rapids
2005 – Bruce Moss, Alma
2006 – Jeanne Skinner, Grand Rapids
2007 – Terry Wakeley, Grayling
2008 – Will Lynch, Honor
2009 – James Danhoff, Richland
2010 – John Juday Sr., Petoskey
2011 – Robert Williams, Redford
PHOTO: Lyle Berry speaks to the audience during Saturday's Officials’ Awards & Alumni Banquet at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.