Pitch hits batter in hand.

[big_joe]

For as long as I can remember, whenever a batter gets hit by the ball on the hand, I had always been told that the hand is an extension of the bat and it's supposed to be called a foul ball.

That is usually the way it gets called when watching baseball on TV, but while watching baseball or softball games at the rec leagues, travel tournaments or high school games it doesn't always get called that way. This weekend at the Border Battle I witnessed a player get hit in the hand while trying to move out of the way of the pitch. The umpires met, talked it over, called the play a foul ball. With hand possibly broken, the player stayed in for that at bat but never returned for the rest of the tournament. In a game later that day on another field, another batter was hit by a pitch on the hand while trying to get out the way and home plate umpire called it a dead ball. When the other team complained, the umpire in the field said she saw the pitch hit the batter in the hand so it was a dead ball. Same tournament, two different calls for the same play. What's the call?

[BigW]

This one gets called both ways a lot. I believe the hand becomes part of the bat if the batter is swinging, bunting, or trying to put the ball in play. Case in point a strike. If they are not swinging, bunting etc...perhaps getting out of the way of an inside pitch (ball) this is supposed to be called a dead ball if hit in the hand. Batter gets awarded first base.

 

For as long as I can remember, whenever a batter gets hit by the ball on the hand, I had always been told that the hand is an extension of the bat and it's supposed to be called a foul ball.

That is usually the way it gets called when watching baseball on TV, but while watching baseball or softball games at the rec leagues, travel tournaments or high school games it doesn't always get called that way. This weekend at the Border Battle I witnessed a player get hit in the hand while trying to move out of the way of the pitch. The umpires met, talked it over, called the play a foul ball. With hand possibly broken, the player stayed in for that at bat but never returned for the rest of the tournament. In a game later that day on another field, another batter was hit by a pitch on the hand while trying to get out the way and home plate umpire called it a dead ball. When the other team complained, the umpire in the field said she saw the pitch hit the batter in the hand so it was a dead ball. Same tournament, two different calls for the same play. What's the call?

[catsbackr]

WRONG!

 

The hands are NEVER part of the bat. The hands are part of the arms.

 

When you go to buy your daughter a bat, are there hands connected to it?

 

A player swinging that is hit in the hands is a dead ball strike. If an umpire calls a non-swinging ball that hits a batter's hand a foul ball, they are wrong.

 

Hands don't come with a bat when you buy it and after you put the bat down, the hands don't stay with the bat, so how can the hands be part of the bat?

[softballscout]

it is also a foul if the the hands (or any part of the body that is hit) are in the strike zone. ie player crowding the plate. but it should not be foul unless the player is in the act of swinging, unless the above applies.

[catsbackr]

it is also a foul if the the hands (or any part of the body that is hit) are in the strike zone. ie player crowding the plate. but it should not be foul unless the player is in the act of swinging, unless the above applies.

 

Actually, it's not foul. It's a dead ball strike.

 

Just for clarification.

[JC#1fan]

it is also a foul if the the hands (or any part of the body that is hit) are in the strike zone. ie player crowding the plate. but it should not be foul unless the player is in the act of swinging, unless the above applies.

 

The last couple of post are correct. As an old time umpire once said to me "Go down to Wal-Mart and buy a bat with a pair of hands on it" The question is not just about the hands. If a batter attempts to make contact and the ball hits any part of the batter it is a foul ball, not just the hands this is also applicable if the hands are considered in the strike zone. If a batter is hit anywhere(including the hands)while attempting to avoid being hit they are to be given the base. Most of the time this comes down to umpire judgement and why you see called differently so much. Different umpire, differeent judgement. This is unforunate as the rules are pretty straightforward, but this happens so quickly and it is not the first thing an umpire is looking for.

[TheUmp]

another little known fact, if the batter swings and the ball hits her in the hands with 2 strikes on her, ball rolls into fair territory, it is still a dead ball and the batter is OUT. believe it or not .

[mwtfan]

Catsbackr & others got it right. One other thing - if the batter is swinging at a pitch & the pitch hits the batter ANYWHERE, it is a strike AND a dead ball. So EITHER way the ump calls it, it's a dead ball.

[ksgovols]

Good job everyone! I had my post already typed when I read the launch post. Hands are not a part of the bat. Sometimes it's a judgement call as to whether hands or bat were hit first. Swinging negates everything. It's a strike if they swing at it. If it hits their hands and rolls fair, the batter is out because it was strike 3 and not a foul ball. It's dead because it hit the batter.

[softballscout]

another little known fact, if the batter swings and the ball hits her in the hands with 2 strikes on her, ball rolls into fair territory, it is still a dead ball and the batter is OUT. believe it or not .

 

This happens to my daughter at nationals, actually broke her finger, to add insult to injury she was called out because it rolled fair. crazy.

[catsbackr]

This happens to my daughter at nationals, actually broke her finger, to add insult to injury she was called out because it rolled fair. crazy.

 

She wasn't called out because it rolled fair, she was called out because she swung at it and missed.

[ksgovols]

Exactly. She'd have been out if it rolled foul too. She's out because she swung and didn't hit the ball with the bat and since her hands are not a part of the bat, she's out fair or foul. It's dead whether it hits the batter taking or swinging.