Scoring question

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Batter hits a ground ball into center field for a base hit, but is called out for throwing the bat which hit the umpire. How is that scored? Is it a base hit and a put out to the catcher or is it a fielders choice put out to the catcher or something else?

 

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I doubt if you will find any official scoring guides that cover this situation. The reason is that under the major softball rules (ASA, FED, NSA, etc.) there is no rule that calls a batter out for throwing a bat!

Some local leagues will concoct their own rules, and I have seen some them add a rule that calls the batter out for slinging her bat. Since this would be a "house" rule, you would need to invent a "house" scoring guideline to cover it.

Giving the hitter the estimated value for her base-hit, then crediting the catcher with a put out sounds reasonable. But there is no standard way to score this, since under "by-the-book" rules this is NOT an out!

 

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I think I would score it a basepath violation, since the batter is being called out by the umpire, because of something she did. No one on the other team should get credit for something they did not do.

 

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P.S. credit a hit

 

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Anytime there is an out called, someone has to be credited with a putout. Under other circumstances, that are similiar to this situation, the player closest to the infractioin will be awarded with the putout. In this case it would be the catcher. But otherwise I agree with bretman.

 

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The "throwing the bat rule" was once explained to me, by an umpire, as unsportsman like conduct. That is how it is suppose to be called in a game situation.

 

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Ump calls "dead ball", batter out, runners return to the base they were at.

 

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In the USSSA Case Book, the player is EJECTED if it is deemed intentional.

"player throws her bat in disgust after striking out, player is ejected from the game" "after hitting a line drive, player throws the bat and it hits catcher or umpire" Ejected if deemed intentional. Unintentional, "team is warned and any SUBSEQUENT offender is restricted to the bench"

 

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Coach 2,
Scenario: Batter warned on 1st at bat. On 2nd at bat hits the single and throws the bat on back swing(nothing intentional). Does she get the hit and then is restricted to the bench at that time, being replaced by a sub or after the inning is she replaced by the sub?
I guess what I'm trying to figure out is whether they're is a rule to cover this, is the batter out, should the hit count and a runner be on base and how to correctly score this play once it's figured out. No body we have talked to including the umps could tell us any of the above. In case I haven't said it was a high school game. Any help would be appreciated.

 

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Sherlock,

It reads that the player is more than out, they are ejected even the first time if it is deemed intentional. If a player throws the bat and the team is warned, any player that throws the bat after that is sent to the bench. It doesn't have to be the same player the way I read it.

HS doesn't fall under USSSA.

 

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ASA rule book, Point of Emphasis #52
"if the bat slips from a batter's hands, there is no penalty unless discarded bat prevents the defense from making a play on the ball, and interference should be ruled.

Sherlock, the ump should have been aske to explain that call,
but I go back to my above post, if the ump calls the batter out, then it should be for interference, dead ball runs return to they base they were on.

 

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Different rule sets handle a thrown bat differently. But none that I am aware of call this an automatic out.

For high school ball (NFHS/FED) if a bat is carelessly discarded, the umpire is to issue a team warning. The next offender on that team that carelessly discards a bat is removed from the game and restricted to the dugout (a less severe penalty than ejection, since it does not carry a suspension from any subsequent games).

If a high school player intentionally throws a bat in anger, they are to be ejected, unless the umpire judges the infraction to be minor in nature.

But neither case calls for an "out". The offending player leaves the game and a substitute takes her place.

Someone posted the USSSA rule, which seems to be the same as the high school rule, and I will take their word for it since I do not call any USSSA ball.

The ASA Point-of-Emphasis has also been posted. This POE covers a carelessly thrown bat, which carries no penalty in ASA ball. A bat thrown intentionally, in anger, is grounds for ejection in ASA. Here again, neither of these infractions is an automatic out.

The NSA rule on thrown bats is the same as the ASA rule.

That a thrown bat is an automatic out is one of those rule myths that just won't go away. Some local leagues will add this rule, but you won't find it under the standard rules of softball.

One thing I have never seen in a league that calls this an "out" is an explanation in their rule that also specifies this to be a dead ball. The rule book lists all of the situations where the ball is dead and runners cannot advance. If your special league rules do not specifically call this a dead ball, then play is live and all other runners would be free to advance.

Just another example of what can happen when a league adds their own rules. Almost always, you inadvertantly affect another rule and create a potential conflict.