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Originally Posted by CoachJM
zanzibar,
The rules (both FED and OBR) are curiously mute regarding the criteria an umpire should use to judge whether an aborted swing attempt constitutes an offer.
Ultimately, the umpire uses his own judgement to determine whether or not the aborted swing constitutes an "offer".
JM
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John, I agree with your assessment that the rules are mute concerning criteria, but I disagree that this omission is "curious." In fact, it's to be expected once one realizes how many different types of swing there are.
Moreover, for each of the virtually infinite variety of swings, there is a wide variety of ways to check it.
Multiply these possibilities, and you arrive at a combinatorial explosion of potential criteria. Criteria, remember, must be necessary and sufficient conditions of an offer, so to provide criteria we would have to cover every case of swinging AND every case of checking.
So, we say instead: if the batter offered, it's a strike.
What about rough guidelines? Did the bat head cross the plate? Did the batter "break his wrists"? (Ouch!) Professional instruction is to avoid using any such guidelines, and simply to judge whether the batter offered at the pitch.
We know what a swinging strike is, and we know what a "take" is: if the half swing was more like a swinging strike than a take, then it's a strike. That's about as close to a "rough guideline" as you'll get.