Any pulling the bat through the strike zone

[whogotz]

hopefully i describe what was done clearly.

as the pitch is coming, the batter (hitting right) holds the bat in his right hand only, and pulls the bat over the plate waist high while tucking it under his right arm.

ok, maybe not a good visual. i guess maybe my question is as simple as: if the pitch is on the way, and at any time before it gets to the batter, the batter pulls the bat over the plate, is that a swing and thus a strike?

 

[hubtowne]

The bat has to completely cross the plate to be considered a full swing and thus a strike. You see that rule applied in almost every baseball game you'll watch on tv. Batter takes a check swing, catcher asks a field umpire for an appeal and he rules whether or not the bat crossed the plate. Same rule applies for softball.

 

[johnsonrod]

The bat has to completely cross the plate to be considered a full swing and thus a strike. You see that rule applied in almost every baseball game you'll watch on tv. Batter takes a check swing, catcher asks a field umpire for an appeal and he rules whether or not the bat crossed the plate. Same rule applies for softball.

no, if you are standing in front of the plate, your bat has crossed the plate but you havent swung and i hope you arent expecting that to be called a strike. if you are standing in the back of the batters box, you can swing and not cross the plate, i hope you arent expecting that to be called a ball (if out of strike zone). in fact, the plate has no bearing whatsoever on a check swing

10. CHECK SWING / BUNT STRIKE.
Normally, there are four areas which constitute whether or not a batter
swung at the pitched ball or checked their swing.
A. Did the batter roll their wrists?
B. Did the batter swing through the ball and bring back the bat, unless
the batter draws the bat back before the pitch arrives?
C. Was the bat out in front of the body?
D. Did the batter make an attempt to hit the pitch?
On a bunt attempt where the batter puts the bat across the plate and
the pitched ball is out of the strike zone, a ball should be called unless the
batter moves the bat toward the ball.
In each of the above situations, the umpire should think in terms of priorities.
First, was the pitch in the strike zone? If so, it is simply a strike. Second,
did the batter swing at the pitched ball, or, in the case of a bunt attempt,
did the batter move the bat toward the pitched ball? In either case, it is the
plate umpire’s call. If in doubt, or if blocked out, the umpire should call the
pitch a ball. If the umpire calls the pitch a ball and the catcher requests the
umpire to go for help, the plate umpire should ONLY ask for help if there
is doubt in their mind as to whether or not the batter swung at the pitched
ball. On a missed bunt attempt with two strikes, the dropped third strike rule
applies. (Rule 8, Section 1 B)

 

[NCASAUmp]

The bat has to completely cross the plate to be considered a full swing and thus a strike. You see that rule applied in almost every baseball game you'll watch on tv. Batter takes a check swing, catcher asks a field umpire for an appeal and he rules whether or not the bat crossed the plate. Same rule applies for softball.

What rule book are you even attempting to pull from?

ASA 7-4: A strike is called by the umpire:
A... B... C...
D. For each legally pitched ball swung at and missed by the batter

The highlighted portion is what you need to focus on. The pitch must be swung AT.

And for once, Rules Supplement 10 is about to be used appropriately:

ASA Rules Supplement #10:
Normally, there are four areas which constitute whether or not a batter swung at the pitched ball or checked their swing.
A...
B...
C...
D. Did the batter make an attempt to hit the pitch?

If, in the umpire's judgment, the action of the batter was NOT an attempt to hit the pitch, it is a BALL. Simply swinging the bat means nothing. If the batter has the bat held up above his shoulder, lets it swing down by his feet and up onto his other shoulder, do you call the ball? No, not unless the ball was actually around the area where he swung the bat.

The plate has absolutely ZERO bearing on determining whether the batter swung at the pitch.

 

[chiefgator]

What rule book are you even attempting to pull from?



The highlighted portion is what you need to focus on. The pitch must be swung AT.

And for once, Rules Supplement 10 is about to be used appropriately:


If, in the umpire's judgment, the action of the batter was NOT an attempt to hit the pitch, it is a BALL. Simply swinging the bat means nothing. If the batter has the bat held up above his shoulder, lets it swing down by his feet and up onto his other shoulder, do you call the ball? No, not unless the ball was actually around the area where he swung the bat.

The plate has absolutely ZERO bearing on determining whether the batter swung at the pitch.

We had a call like this in our Spring league tournament.

One of my players holds the bat very high on the pitch. When a pitch comes that he is not going to swing at, he drops his top hand and the bat arcs past his feet and basically up to his other shoulder.

When the ump called a STRIKE, I called time and asked him about it. He replied "the bat passed through the strike zone, it is a strike" I tried to explain it to him, but to no avail. My batter hit the next pitch while I found the UIC. The UIC explained it to the ump in-between games, exaclt as you said it. There is no attempt to swing AT the ball, it is not a strike.

 

[MrEye]

What rule book are you even attempting to pull from?



The highlighted portion is what you need to focus on. The pitch must be swung AT.

And for once, Rules Supplement 10 is about to be used appropriately:


If, in the umpire's judgment, the action of the batter was NOT an attempt to hit the pitch, it is a BALL. Simply swinging the bat means nothing. If the batter has the bat held up above his shoulder, lets it swing down by his feet and up onto his other shoulder, do you call the ball? No, not unless the ball was actually around the area where he swung the bat.

The plate has absolutely ZERO bearing on determining whether the batter swung at the pitch.

So I can use this on the jacka$$ that's "swings" and misses to avoid walking?

 

[NCASAUmp]

So I can use this on the jacka$$ that's "swings" and misses to avoid walking?

It's a very fine line you'd be walking here. If he swings near it, just call it. If he swings while the pitch is still 30 feet away, well, the choice is yours. If he wants to make it a hitter's game (which slow pitch already is), that's his choice.

 

[MrEye]

It's a very fine line you'd be walking here. If he swings near it, just call it. If he swings while the pitch is still 30 feet away, well, the choice is yours. If he wants to make it a hitter's game (which slow pitch already is), that's his choice.

I've just called the strike, but it's usually a team crushing the ball against a bad team on a pitch that he probably could have reached out and hit anyway.

I'll probably still just call the strike, but this is good ammunition to let the batter know I have the option.

 

[NCASAUmp]

I've just called the strike, but it's usually a team crushing the ball against a bad team on a pitch that he probably could have reached out and hit anyway.

I'll probably still just call the strike, but this is good ammunition to let the batter know I have the option.

Sometimes, it's better to just call the strike. If the next pitch floats by and hits that inside corner, you've just rung him up for strike 3, and he'll think twice before pulling that stunt again.

 

[whogotz]

thanks for all of the input. i see the ASA rule quoted here. Safe to say that most other associations follow suit?

 

[NCASAUmp]

thanks for all of the input. i see the ASA rule quoted here. Safe to say that most other associations follow suit?

Not safe to say at all.

There are some associations that will differ very slightly in this matter. Take the following situation:

Fast pitch game. Batter holds the bat out to attempt a bunt, but the pitch is very high. The batter moves the bat slightly down to bring it away from the ball. What's the call?

In ASA, this would be a ball.

In NCAA, my understanding is that this is a strike.

Each association can and will differ ever so slightly in the application of the rules regarding balls/strikes. It all depends on their wording.

 

[USSSA]

rule ten here