Posted at 1:17 p.m., Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Baseball: Rodriguez, Iwamura bats deemed clean
Associated Press
NEW YORK — The bats were clean.Bats seized from the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez and Tampa Bay's Akinori Iwamura were examined by Major League Baseball today, three days after opponents asked the umpires to check them out.
"Both bats were in full compliance with Major League Baseball's bat regulations, and neither bat showed any signs of tampering and/or alteration," the commissioner's office said in a statement. "The bats will be returned to Iwamura and Rodriguez promptly."
After Yankees manager Joe Torre asked umpires whether Iwamura's unusual model, featuring a flat end rather than a rounded one, was legal, Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon asked the umps to examine Rodriguez's bat an inning later.
