Quote:
Originally Posted by CecilOne
Back to the original point. The ball was called foul by mistake. We all consider that a mistake that stands.
Even though review showed it was fair, would you change the foul call?
Would you ignore the pitch as they did?
That batter eventually singled, could have ended up scoring and did affect the batting order that inning and the next.
Anyone who saw the play, did you think the BR slowed down on the call?
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I'm late on getting back to this, but I appreciate the video link for context.
With the benefit of slo-mo, I'm still wondering if it hit the bat a second time while in the batter's hands while his feet were still in the box. I don't think it did, based on the multiple angles, but our PU doesn't have that luxury.
It was a weird bunt. PU was blocked on seeing the ball (probably not) hit the bat a second time, or less likely, hit the batter as he exited the box. I think the foul call on the field was one of these two reasons, and rightfully so. We don't always see the ball hit the batter....we learn to react to the path of the ball (which was weird) and the reactions of the batter/fielders.
THAT SAID
Even if review shows this fair, under no softball code that I work can we un-ring the bell and make it fair from a foul call. If PU judged it hit the batter or the bat while in the box, we got a dead ball/foul ball, and judgment in this case isn't up for review.
Would I ignore the pitch? No -- he threw it. Ignoring this in the pitch count is almost as stupid as charging F1 with 4 thrown pitches on an IBB. Pitch counts are there to protect arms. For whatever reason...
Yes, I think the batter slowed down perceptibly on the play, but I can't say if that was due to the foul call from home, the mirrored dead-ball signal from U1 which we don't do in softball, or because he knew he was out by ten feet.
I don't
hate the do-over rule, and for LL, that's probably the best ruling for the kids. Elsewhere, we gotta eat this foul ball. The adults kicked it...so don't penalize anyone in LL....just pretend it never happened and finish the at-bat. Alternatively, invoke Rule 10/12/15...whichever is the one in the back of the book that says we can fix umpire jeopardy and make it right by the alphabet that's on your shirt or hat that day. (Which IMO would be an out at first base)