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Old Thu Sep 30, 2004, 07:59pm
Atl Blue Atl Blue is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 159
Pitchout. Batter throws the bat, but does not hit the ball until it is past the batter, and as the bat hits the ball, it also hits the catcher. The bat was clearly thrown to get in the catcher's face, and hit the ball almost by accident.

Admittedly, if the batter is trying to interfere with the catcher rather than hit the ball, the chance of him actually making contact with the ball is almost zero. But I got a ruling from the WUA regarding the general issue of the batter throwing the bat (without the contact part). The rule for MLB umps is if the bat is thrown to attempt to hit the ball, legal. If it is thrown to interfere with the catcher, illegal. Obviously, the intent is the judgment of the umpire.
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