Hitting and Hitters Discussion The Hand is Part of the Bat?

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That is a myth... unless the batter is swinging and the ball knicked the hands. However...

A high and inside pitch that my batter tried to avoid hit her hand and then her bat. The umpire shouted " The hand is part of the bat!". I told her that is a myth and that is not the rule. She told me that it hit her hand first and then the bat so it was a foul ball. She went on to explain that when the hands were in the strike zone they are a part of the bat. I asked her if the pitch was a "strike" if none of the above happened... She said no, It was a ball. I told her that the hands in that case were NOT and will never be a "part of the bat" and that if she believed otherwise, she is doing the game a discredit. She told me that it was a "foul ball" and warned me to back off and return to the box. Later, the field umpire, who is the UIC, told my assistant that I was absolutely correct. (Which he probably shouldn't have).

On the other hand, I give the home plate umpire some credit for saving her partner from some embarassement. A ball was hit to RF. The field umpire (who was relieved the next inning by the UIC after the play) turned his back on the play. My RF threw a bullet to first to get the runner. The field umpire had his back to the play. The home plate umpire was on top of the play and called the runner out. I tipped my hat to her for being attentative when her partner was not.

On any given weekend.......

 

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Wow...

It's been awhile since I ran across an umpire that still believed the old "hands are part of the bat" myth. Not only did this one believe it, she went to great lengths to invent a bogus explanation for it!

As a rule misinterpretation, this is a 100% protestable call.

On the other play, these umpires might have been following standard procedure. If the ball hit to right field had a reasonable chance of being caught, and if it might be a difficult catch by the fielder, the base umpire may turn his back to the infield as he watches the outfield for the "catch/no catch" ruling. Whenever the plate umpire sees the base umpire turn away from the infield in this situation, the plate umpire automatically has resposibility for all calls at all the bases. The plate umpire in this scenario is supposed to trail the batter-runner to first, come into the infield and cover all base calls.

Depending on how the ball was hit and how the base umpire reacted, they might have just been "doing their jobs" on this one.

 

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Bret,

It was a hard ground ball between 2nd and 1st. RF was playing shallow. It was not a ball that the RF could have caught for the out but it was a playable ball for a play at 1st. As soon as the ball went in the hole, the field umpire jogged towards the mound with his back to the play. He looked puzzled when my girls start to run off of the field. He then motioned to the home plate umpire who signaled it was an out.

 

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the bigger question is, is the foot part of the shoe? ;D

 

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Okay, I take that back!

On a ground ball (not a fly) going to the outfield, the base umpire should be coming into the infield AND watching the runner going to first base. The batter-runner is his responsibility.

You hate to see any breakdowns in coverage between the umpires, but at least they seem to have gotten the call right in the end.