Taking a hit by a pitch/Being hit by a Pitch

[okiedad1961]

Have seen and heard this year alot of teams over the line in batters box,crowding plate to either get hit by a pitch or take away the outside river pitch.What are the rights of the pitcher w/out penalty of brush back pitchs and how do teams and umpires deal w these issues without player/parent hostility happening.

 

[coachjwb]

I think there's a problem in the game that needs to be looked at ... way too many HBP's as evidenced in the WCWS ...

 

[wow]

Its part of the game.. Teaching kids how to be prepared and wear the proper protective gear is the key. HBP will always be a part of the game. I can tell you our kids use tennis balls and we run drills to teach them how to be prepared to "take the pitch" The evo shields, elbow and under shirts make this easier. You want to avoid kidneys and back as much as possible. So turning around may be dangerous.

In the WCWS and that level of play they draw and lean into pitches as a way to get on. Very different from a 10U kid being erratic. Understanding the difference of drawing the walk and protecting yourself are very different.

As far as player, parent, or coach reaction.. All I can say is take the high road and make sure that HPB turns the number at the plate. If you react in a hostile way it only distracts from the game. Inside you may have all kinds of emotions because its your kid. Take the HBP, smile, and run the bases like a boss...

 

[okiedad1961]

I think there's a problem in the game that needs to be looked at ... way too many HBP's as evidenced in the WCWS ...

Agree really takes away the inside strike for pitchers w/out looking like trying to hit someone.Elbow protectors flying off the shelves lol.

 

[Justamom]

My daughter gets hit more often than others on her team because she wont jump out of the way. The only thing she takes away from the pitcher is the ability to get a strike called on a pitch thrown into the batter's box. She doesn't lean into pitches and remains in the box. She was once hit by a pitch by a pitcher that is a student of a friend of ours. She counseled my daughter on crowding the plate the next time we ran into her. Funny thing is I am a photographer and had a picture of the pitch in question. It was in the middle of the box. The only problem I see is my daughter feels it is better to get hit and take a base then have an umpire call balls strikes. As far as hostility towards the pitcher- At the youth level I've only seen a few intentional hits. The hostility is usually there before the game even begins between the pitcher and batter. When my daughter gets hit I never have felt it was intentional. The pitchers are still learning their control at this point imo.

 

[coachjwb]

It will always be a part of the game, yes, but it should not become a growing part of the game. My only disappointment in the WCWS was how many hit batters there were ... while some of it was due to pitchers being a little wild, I think much more had to do with a strategy of hitters to try to get on base that way. I don't blame them if the rules allow it ... I just think it takes away from the game if strategy is focused in that direction.

 

[Long Baller]

Agree really takes away the inside strike for pitchers w/out looking like trying to hit someone.Elbow protectors flying off the shelves lol.

Agree. Unfortunately, if crowding the plate and elbow big guards are the new norm, then rise balls at the chin are going to be as well...

 

[Louuuuu]

I've always been amused by the girls thinking that every HBP was intentional. The last pitch was in the dirt, and the one before that was over the backstop, but the one that hit YOU was intentional...

I'm not saying that it doesn't happen, but it's not as common as believed.

 

[Long Baller]

I also hate to see a pitch roll into the batters box, hit the side of the batters cleat, then be awarded first base.

 

[coachjwb]

I know very few pitchers that want to put a batter on base intentionally by hitting them, but they need to be able to throw inside without the batter getting a cheap free pass. And even if my DD had not been a pitcher, I don't care to watch games where there's a batter being hit every inning or so, no more than I want to see a lot of illegal pitches called or say instant replay reviews every inning either.

 

[BretMan2]

The hit batters in NCAA softball seems epidemic. This all goes back to the rule change they made a few years ago. Batters no longer need to make any attempt to avoid a pitch if it's entirely inside the batter's box. This has led to batter's pushing the envelope for pitches just outside the box and a higher incidence of "taking one for the team".

A year after NCAA adopted this rule, high school softball picked it up. Then, the domino effect really started. USSSA and NSA were next. Now, I think that ASA might be the only one left that still requires the batter to make some discernible attempt to avoid the pitch. In ASA, if they just stand there and take it, they aren't going to get first base. You know, just like the rule was the first hundred-plus years of baseball and softball!

NCAA baseball actually started this mess. Their coaches whined that umpires weren't making good judgments when it came to "avoiding the pitch". So they got the rule re-written to suit their own agenda. NCAA softball- where the coaches have similar influence over the rule change process- adopted the rule the next season.

College baseball went through this same thing with a huge uptick in the number of hit batters. So much so that starting this year they changed back to the old rule! I think that NCAA softball will review this and their rule might be the next to change. Then we'll have to see if the lower amateur levels follow suit.

 

[brownsfan]

I think what needs done is simple, keep the rules as it is, BUT any part of the body that is on the line, in the river, or just on the black of the plate is fair game. If hit in any portion of the body that I just described happens, either ball or strike as umpire sees fit. If the ball crosses into the box, the batter awarded the base. Normally if the feet are on the line, the hands/elbows are in the river OR at the black edge of the plate.

 

[BretMan2]

I think what needs done is simple, keep the rules as it is, BUT any part of the body that is on the line, in the river, or just on the black of the plate is fair game. If hit in any portion of the body that I just described happens, either ball or strike as umpire sees fit. If the ball crosses into the box, the batter awarded the base. Normally if the feet are on the line, the hands/elbows are in the river OR at the black edge of the plate.

That's the way the rule is supposed to be interpreted.

The actual states that the batter need not make any attempt to avoid the pitch if the ball is ENTIRELY inside of the batter's box. For whatever reason, it seems to get enforced on any pitch, even ones that aren't entirely inside the box.

If a pitch is in the river- any part of the river- then the ball is not entirely inside the batter's box.

 

[coachjwb]

Bretman ... thanks for the background and clarification on that.

I'm not an umpire .... but I think it would be much easier for an umpire to judge whether a batter made an attempt or had a chance to get out of the way than determine if all of the ball was in the batters box especially if the batter is on or hugging the line. If they're going to keep the rule as it is, they need to make it a point of emphasis or clarification or do something about it. But I'd be very much in favor of going back to the old rule. Those pitches that trickle in in the dirt and hit a batter in the foot are a joke, and aren't gaining the sport any credibility.

 

[mogsoftball]

Part of the problem is so many umps giving 4 inches off the outside corner of the plate as a strike. Girls have to crowd in to reach the outside when an ump has decided the line of the other batters box is still a strike.

 

[wow]

Part of the problem is so many umps giving 4 inches off the outside corner of the plate as a strike. Girls have to crowd in to reach the outside when an ump has decided the line of the other batters box is still a strike.

Ding ding ding.. we have a winner! Correctomundo!

 

[snoman76]

That's the way the rule is supposed to be interpreted.

The actual states that the batter need not make any attempt to avoid the pitch if the ball is ENTIRELY inside of the batter's box. For whatever reason, it seems to get enforced on any pitch, even ones that aren't entirely inside the box.

If a pitch is in the river- any part of the river- then the ball is not entirely inside the batter's box.

Had one of my players get hit and on her way down to first base the umpire called her back. He called dead ball strike because her elbow was in the strike zone.

 

[Louuuuu]

Part of the problem is so many umps giving 4 inches off the outside corner of the plate as a strike. Girls have to crowd in to reach the outside when an ump has decided the line of the other batters box is still a strike.

Let's see; the plate is 17 inches wide. Plus your 4 inch "Outside Corner Allowance" = 21 inches. Unless the player is using a T-ball bat and has arms only 6 inches long, I'd say they can reach a lot of outside pitches without crowding the plate...

Louuuuu
(Pitcher's father & Umpire with a tight strike zone)

 

[Maxx]

College coaches don't come to tournaments to watch kids get hit, just like they don't come to watch kids sac bunt. If they get hit they should have the option of taking the ball and staying in the box and hitting......just saying.

 

[coachjwb]

Lol ... I think we can tell the hitters' parents and pitchers' parents by some of the opinions expressed here ... but I think my vote should count double since my daughter did both in college and more importantly since she is no longer playing.