Any Interference / Blocked Ball?

[ilyk2win]

Batter gets a base hit, carries the bat a couple steps down the line towards 1B, then does weird (intentional) bat flip behind his back sending the bat helicoptering into the field of play ending up between home and the mound.
Question: what is the call if that bat becomes part of the play (i.e. Pitcher trips over it, relay throw hits it. etc.)?

*I've never understood why they think this is cool, and they must bc there is no other reason to do it. Ranks up there in stupidity IMO with the batters who drop the bat on the 3B line near the plate, potentially getting in the way of their own teammate attempting to score, instead of dropping in on the 1B line or in foul territory instead.

 

[eddieq]

Discarded bat that was just used is generally part of the field. If the act of discarding it causes interference then that's a separate thing. If the act of discarding it is judged to be dangerous or unsportsmanlike that's another thing altogether.

I'm not going to go down the "if - then - else" on this because there are numerous scenarios. HOWEVER, if I see this on my field, even if it doesn't cause interference, I'm probably having words with the coach that it's unsporting behavior and if I see it again, the person doing it is ejected. First and only warning.

Hit the ball, drop the bat and run. Signed the nofunpolice

 

[stang7222]

I dont know about slowpitch but when I ump little league and girls fastpitch (8u-18u) I generally don't care what they do with the bat as long as they're not throwing back at me and/or the catcher. That can be a big enough battle on its own.

 

[ilyk2win]

This situation just happened in Myrtle. Luckily the relay throw to home barely missed the bat and the C was able to make the play at home. Just curious how to handle it if the same scenario happened but the throw hit the bat instead of missing it?
Does the ruling vary based on association (USA vs USSSA)?
Seeing the video, there was nothing "natural" about the way the batter discarded the bat; it was an intentional bat flip behind the back that helicoptered onto the field of play and as a result almost became part of the play.

 

[eddieq]

Trying not to go down the rabbit hole here, but again, many situations. In general, if the discarded bat is stationary and a thrown ball hits it, well, it's part of the field and play on. If the bat is still moving and it hits/gets hit by the batted or thrown ball, or if it impacts a players ability to make a play on a batted ball, that's going to be interference at all levels.

Like stang said, sometimes it's a big enough battle to get them not to sling the bat into the catcher's legs.

What if...what if...what if...

You know it when you see it.

Hit the ball, drop the bat, run. It's not complicated.

 

[smoke]

i"ve kicked bats away when from the plate when I was expecting a play when I was catching
SMOKE

 

[EAJuggalo]

i"ve kicked bats away when from the plate when I was expecting a play when I was catching
SMOKE

As well you should, just don't expect me to do it as the umpire.
In the situation described above, I'd have interference under USSSA Rule 8.5.K and possibly an ejection of the batter once the play is over. The batter purposely placed the bat in the field of play, which makes him responsible for it. I'd call the runner closest to home out. If in my judgement, the batter discarded the bat in a careless manner without regard for safety, it'd be an ejection.

 

[Sailorjoe6308]

Safety is exactly why I do my best to toss the bat towards the first base dugout after making hitting the ball. Keeps it out of the field of play and makes sure that no one gets hit by it. I have had umpires talk to me about it being unsportsmanlike conduct until I explain I'm just getting the bat out of the way. I've even been ejected from a tournament for doing it. They had a no bat flipping rule for the tournament and me doing this was considered a bat flip. I appealed to the UIC and was told I wasn't flipping the bat and that I'd be able to return to play for coed but I was done for men's. Even spoke with the umpire who tossed me the next day. He was super cool about it and just asked that I try to keep the bat closer to the ground when I toss it so it doesn't helicopter or look like a bat flip.