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Originally Posted by tribefan1952
I had a similar HBP tonight. I'm not sure if I did the right thing. Please advise...
JV game. Very good pitcher throwing for the visitors. Strong non-stop wind blowing across the diamond (from 3rd to 1st) the whole game. This kid had a ball that was moving a foot right to left. I'm sure the wind was playing a role, too. Anyway, the RH batter was fooled on two straight pitches that looked to be way inside and ended up near the center on the plate. 0-2 count. The next pitch starts off looking like the same pitch, only this time it doesn't break. It catches a piece the batter's jersey. No movement by the batter. No attempt at all to get out of the way. I signal dead ball. Go to first base.
The catcher (very quietly & respectfully) mentions that the batter never attempted to get out of the way. I agree with him, but I mentioned that it looked a lot like the previous two pitches that had the batter fooled out of his socks. The catcher sort of chuckled & agreed. I believe the batter didn't move because he (legitimately) figured the ball would.
At the end of the inning, my partner made a comment about the kid not moving. I told him the same story. He wasn't so sure. What do you guys think?
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One of those HTBT moments. This is just like the half-swing, in that the umpire has to judge what the batter is thinking. Was he waiting for the pitch to move like the previous ones did or was he just standing there waiting to get hit??
Only YOU know what YOU thought the batter was thinking.