[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by Paul L

OBR, if it makes a difference.

High inside pitch, heading for the batter's chin. Right-handed batter twists/spins to his left, leaning away from the plate, bringing his bat in close to his body, and ending up facing the third base dugout, with the bathead next to his right ear. Bat never came close to the strike zone, but did pass by the plate (almost vertically) in the process. Batter's intent clearly was to avoid the pitch, and not to attempt to strike at the pitch. In other words, a classic twisting out of the way of an inside pitch, spinning in the same direction as a swing, and holding the bat up and close to the body.

PU, thinking the batter did not offer at the ball, calls ball. Coach appeals a checked swing. PU asks BU (in B position) "Did he go?" BU, thinking the bat went through the strike zone, says "Yes, he did" and rings up a strike.

Q1: If PU doesn't think that the batter ever attempted to hit the pitch, should he refuse a request for an checked-swing appeal?

Q2: In ruling on a checked-swing appeal, should BU make an independent judgment about whether the batter attempted to hit the pitch before determining whether the batter successfully checked his swing?

"BU, thinking the bat went through the strike zone, says "Yes, he did" and rings up a strike."

BU needs a rules lesson. The criteria is "did the batter attempt to hit the ball?" and NOT "where did the bat go"?.

2.00 A STRIKE is a legal pitch when so called by the umpire, which --
(a) Is struck at by the batter and is missed;