NCAA adopted this rule a couple of years ago. High school (NFHS) followed suit last year. They have not changed their rule since then. In high school softball, merely holding the bat out is considered as "an offer" and a strike. In order to "take" the pitch, the batter must withdraw, or pull back, the bat.
ASA has NOT adopted this rule. Their rules state that there must be some movement of the bat towards the ball in order for it to be "an offer". Even if the batter holds the bat out across the plate, if there is no movement toward the ball the pitch is ruled a ball or strike by it's relation to the strike zone.
Just to keep us on our toes...NSA has adopted the NCAA/high school. USSSA has not. And you might get a different answer for any of the other dozen different santioning bodies out there.
Personally, I hate this rule. The old definition of "a bunt attempt" served us well- both in baseball and softball- for pretty close to 100 years! Every other definition of "an offer" requires that the batter make some movement to actually hit the ball.
The reasoning that the NFHS gave when this rule was changed was that it was now "easier" for umpires to judge a bunt attempt. So, they dumbed down the rule and now, if you play under multiple sanctions, you have multiple rules to deal with.
Not only did they dumb down the rule, but I think that the way they wrote is even dumber. The rule says *QUOTE* Holding the bat in the strike zone is considered a bunt attempt*UNQUOTE*.
So, what if the batter sets up in the front or back of the box and holds the bat straight out, as if squared to bunt? The bat would not be held in the strike zone! Would that be considered a bunt attempt?
We have been told that, yes, it would be. Despite the wording of the rule, holding the bat out is an offer, whether the bat is actually in the strike zone or not. Why not write the rule to reflect that?
