[cbfoulds]

Originally posted by Carl Childress

Let me try once more: If you have seen a batter release a bat that then hit the catcher, according to the FED that is a carelessly thrown bat.

Frankly, I don't believe that's never occurred if you've called as many as five games played under NFHS rules.

I take it you're an attorney. The Law may distinguish between "inadvertent" and "careless," but people sensitive to language do not. The FED does not.

You're simply quibbling over the definition. "Inadvertent" and "careless" both signify this statement: "I didn't mean to do it, but it was my fault." That's the difference between "careless" and "accidental."

A bat that hits someone on a FED field is either: (a) carelessly thrown; or (b) deliberately thrown. Those are the only two possibilities defined in their rules.

What is so hard about that?

I'll answer that question: You'd rather not stir the sleeping giant known as "the coach who gets the warning." If you get sued because you didn't enforce a safety rule, hire another attorney. You know the old saying....

Maybe kids in my area are better coached by the time they reach the big field ....?
Maybe your medication needs adjusting .....?

Let ME try this once more....

I have NEVER seen a big-kid catcher hit by a "carelessly" THROWN bat in one of my games. I am not kidding. Maybe my local kids are better coached?... or maybe: "Just lucky, I guess."

I have seen some where the B hit 'em on the backswing with the bat still in hand; according to you [in the quoted post - I'm not convinced you really meant that] this is either carelessly or intentionally thrown; but I just don't see that, as the bat never left the hand.

I have seen B release the bat, which rebounded from the ground and made incidental contact w/ F2 [or me], but since B has to let go of the bat somehow, and gravity being pretty much non-optional where I work, I did not judge that these bats were "thrown" either, much less carelessly.

You wrote:
"Inadvertent" and "careless" both signify this statement: "I didn't mean to do it, but it was my fault." That's the difference between "careless" and "accidental."

Now, honestly, I'm not altogether sure what you intended to express here, but I take it you recognise a distinction between "careless" and "accidental". Good, I do too. Does the FED, do you think? I think so, although they don't explicitly define or "sanction" accidental occurences. 'Course, as we know from other discussions, not everything permitted [or at least tolerated] under the rules is explicitly listed or described in the rules. In fact, the existence of the two kinds of illegal bat-throwing suggests that there is a third, unclassified category, namely that which is legal. O/W we would not bother to penalize "careless" acts: we'd just say that ANY throwing of the bat is illegal.

Let's try a couple not-so hypotheticals; I'm willing to be convinced. Maybe my judgment has been wrong: it's happened before.

1) B swings mightily & the bat accidentally slips from his hand, flying 20 feet into the infield toward the C position [& thus not coming close to hitting anyone]: is this a "carelessly" thrown bat?

2) On-deck batter picks up his predecessor's stick and tosses it toward the corner of fence and dugout, after making sure that there is no-one in the vicinity: is this "careless", or more likely, an "intentionally" thrown bat?

3) B walks, and on his way toward 1stB, releases his bat, not merely to the force of gravity, but with a slight lateral impetus, which causes it to "fly" 5 ft, and then roll 10 more, coming into the path of and incidental contact with [but causing no harm to] the next batter, advancing to the plate, who sees it and returns it to the dugout [we'll pass for the moment, on whether he uses the proceedure in 2, above]. As you understand the wishes of the FED folk, are we to issue a warning, or eject upon the second occurance, for that?