Batter's box

Hi everyone,
I was just wondering if anyone knew the rule for starting a swing outside the batter's box. I just started playing ASA softball and the boxes they have are as thin as a cheese stick, which spells trouble for me because I always preferred a really open stance when I played baseball 10 years ago. I'm just wondering in case I get scolded by the umps then I can be like, "Hey man, the people of softballfans.com forums told me otherwise so you need to check yourself." So am I able to start my swing with the feet outside the box and then bring it back in to make contact?
Thanks for any help. This community has been so awesome in getting advice and everything from.
 

RDD15

Addicted to Softballfans
The FAQ on batters boxes.

Your feet must be completely inside the batters box when the pitcher delivers the ball.

Part of each of your feet must be inside the batters box when you hit the ball.

If no batters box is drawn, the umpire's judgement of where the box is will determine where the box is. If there are no lines, and he says you are out of the box, stop arguing, be nice, and get closer. There is no such thing as "there is no box drawn, so how can I be out of it?". If blue says you are outside the box, you are outside the box.
 

RDD15

Addicted to Softballfans
Also, the box is 7feet long by 3 feet wide, and starts 6 inches from the plate. If you need to be 42 inches from the edge of the plate in order to hit, then you need a whole helluva lot of real estate.
 

irishmafia

Addicted to Softballfans
Hi everyone,
I was just wondering if anyone knew the rule for starting a swing outside the batter's box. I just started playing ASA softball and the boxes they have are as thin as a cheese stick, which spells trouble for me because I always preferred a really open stance when I played baseball 10 years ago. I'm just wondering in case I get scolded by the umps then I can be like, "Hey man, the people of softballfans.com forums told me otherwise so you need to check yourself." So am I able to start my swing with the feet outside the box and then bring it back in to make contact?
.

The box is big enough. It is 3x7 and 6" off the plate. BB BB is 4x6 and 6" off the plate. Thankfully, this ain't baseball, so you need to get over those days.

Your feet must be completely inside the batters box when the pitcher delivers the ball.

Not quite. All parts of the batter's feet touching the ground must be within the lines of the batter's box prior to the pitch

Part of each of your feet must be inside the batters box when you hit the ball.

No. There is no requirement to be in the box. The requirement is that the batter is out is the part of either foot is touching the ground completely outside of the box at the time of contact with the ball
 
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Sully

Wanna buy jerseys/rings?
I think he mixed up his responses with the quotes. I think they got crisscrossed.
 

JabNblue

Member
Also, the box is 7feet long by 3 feet wide, and starts 6 inches from the plate. If you need to be 42 inches from the edge of the plate in order to hit, then you need a whole helluva lot of real estate.
Don't forget to add the plate width along with that. Almost 5 feet,
 

RDD15

Addicted to Softballfans
Don't forget to add the plate width along with that. Almost 5 feet,

Huh? The batters feet may not be on the plate. I dont know why you would add the width of the plate to the size of the batter's box.

Honestly, you bring a ton of confusion and misinformation to the "Ask the Umpire" section on a pretty consistent basis. This may be a forum for you to read and learn, and not one for you to be posting in as an expert. There is no shame in that though. I feel that I am in this category also. I am mostly a learner here, not a teacher.
 

EdFred

every day I'm shovelin'
I think what he was saying is that including where you swing the bat, 3' wide + 6" + 17" = almost 5' of space.
 

RDD15

Addicted to Softballfans
I think what he was saying is that including where you swing the bat, 3' wide + 6" + 17" = almost 5' of space.

Yeah, I get it I suppose. Maybe me just being cranky when i posted that this morning and I didnt need to leave a reply, but what he posted didnt seem to have a lot to do with the point of this thread. We were talking about batters boxes, not how wide the plate is.
 

JabNblue

Member
He referred to his stance needing room. Plenty of room. Unless you know the game and have ball placement skills. Pitchers beware.
 

irishmafia

Addicted to Softballfans
He referred to his stance needing room. Plenty of room. Unless you know the game and have ball placement skills. Pitchers beware.

It's slow pitch softball! If you cannot place the ball, try another game like golf where they actually to use a tee.
 
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Sully

Wanna buy jerseys/rings?
I think that room is usually to the inside edge of the plate. Why would someone want to back out of the box just to cover the far side of the plate?
 

LIKEUCM

Member
The biggest issue we face, is a box not being drawn. Please understand that it is still there, even if there is no chalk to define it visually for the players. Enforcing it requires solid game management skills. Just keep that hand up until you are satisfied that the batter is in the box before you permit the pitch to be thrown. If the batter questions you, simply let them know the box is 3 feed wide, 7 feet long, and 6 inches off the plate. Once they realize that you are on top of things, most will comply without much resitance. Of course you are going to get the occasional "you can't call a box that is not drawn" comment. Just handle your business and play ball! I asked a player once if he mowed his own yard. He said yes. I asked if he mowed the neighbor's yard too. He said no. I aksed him if there was a line drawn to show him where to stop mowing between the two yards? He just smiled. I then told him to get in my yard, and we can play ball.
 

defos

Well-Known Member
The corners of the boxes here are marked by pieces of rope permanently buried. The lines are there for the 1st game of the day, but of course get wiped out during play. Even with the corners marked, guys give the old "What box? There's no box" bit. Of course those are the guys not even close to being in the box. The umps generally don't call it even after we call it to their attention. To be somewhat fair, I'm pretty sure the boxes here aren't a full 3' wide.
 

irishmafia

Addicted to Softballfans
Exactly my point. How many fields are maintained to the point where a batter's box is drawn, on the regular?

If you play the game and don't know where they are located, that is your problem, not the umpire's or the other teams. BTW, it occurs just as much when lines are laid down.

Just another lazy man's excuse for failure.
 

blakcherry329

Well-Known Member
If you play the game and don't know where they are located, that is your problem, not the umpire's or the other teams. BTW, it occurs just as much when lines are laid down.

Just another lazy man's excuse for failure.
Um, who pissed in your cheerios this morning?? wtf are you talking about? Nobody is making excuses for anything. smh.
Players will try to take every advantage, so it's the umps responsibility to establish the box, if there's a question. Isn't that the case?

Um, if lines are laid down, then isn't it pretty easy to tell if they're in or out of the box???
 
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