Akinori Iwamura has a funny-looking bat: instead of having a round end, it's sheared flat, not unlike the end of a 2x4. Why does he like it this way? I have no idea ... and
neither does Joe Torre:
With two outs in the second and Iwamura at-bat facing a 2-2 count, Yankees manager
Joe Torre stepped from the dugout to talk to home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley, who called in the rest of the crew for a conference.
Rays manager
Joe Maddon was then summoned from the dugout. When the meeting was finished, Iwamura had to hand over his bat to the umpiring crew. He then struck out swinging to end the inning.
"I was surprised," Iwamura said. "... Even before I left Japan, I sent my bat to see if it's OK with Major League Baseball." [...]
"Torre contends that no manufacturer makes a bat sawed off at the end like that, and he wanted to determine whether it was a legal bat or an illegal bat," crew chief Dana DeMuth said. "We respected his request."
Joe Torre Suspects the Devil Rays Cheat - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog
09-02-2007, 01:28 PM
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