This is another one that comes up a lot. Throwing the bat gets confusing because different sanctioning bodies have different ways of handling this. Plus, this one falls into the "rule myth" category that throwing a bat is an automatic out.
To make it even more confusing, there are different kinds of bat throwing that also have different penalties.
The distinctions that must be made are:
1) Was the bat carelessly discarded by the batter? Did it either slip from her hands or was it slung accidentaly without regard for safety?
2) Was the bat purposely thrown in anger, such as following a strike out or failing to get a hit?
3) Did the discarded bat- no matter how it was thrown- interfere with a fielder making a play?
For example:
NFHS (high school rules):
The high school rule is along the lines of what The Bear posted, but it sounds like that umpire pulled the trigger too soon.
Under these rules carelessly discarding a bat causes a mandatory team warning to be issued. The next offender on that same team is to be restricted to the bench (not ejected, which is a more severe penalty). Each team should get their own separate warning. There is no out accessed.
Purposely throwing a bat in anger is grounds for immediate ejection without warning but, again, no out is recorded.
Discarding a bat, for any reason, is interference if it interferes with a fielder making a play. This is the only case where an out should be charged as well as any warnings or ejections that are warranted.
ASA rules
A carelessly discarded bat (accidental) has no penalty.
A bat thrown in anger is grounds for immediate ejection, no out.
A thrown bat that interferes with a fielder making a play is an out.
NSA, USSSA, etc. will have their own ways of dealing with this. I'll leave those up to folks that work their games. or you can find their rule books on-line.
As if all that isn't confusing enough, it is not uncommon for local leagues to add an "in-house" rule calling a batter out for any bat throwing. I work one such league in summer ball. When you mix in baseball, which has a slightly different ruling, that means that depending on the game, I have about six different penalties to apply in different leagues for different situations.
No wonder this stuff gets confusing! ?
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