Neutral Cite
THROWING THE BAT RULE
Young players quite often let go of the bat during or after a swing and sometimes hit another player. There is no rule that covers this situation. It is a safety issue and may be handled under the authority of rule 9.01(c) which gives the umpire authority to rule on anything not specifically covered in the rules.
Quite often I hear that umpires call the batter out for doing this. Sometimes it is after a warning and sometimes without. This is not correct. The defense hasn't earned an out. The batter should be called out, only if the throwing of the bat interfered with an attempted play by the defense.
The Official Little League policy that I was given from Western Region is:
After the first occurrence, inform the player and the manager that if this or any other player lets go of the bat again, he will be removed from the game. He may remain on the bench, he just can't play anymore in that game.
Submitted by: Jim Booth
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