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Originally Posted by kcg NC2Ablu
in 7.6.Q the batter has to actively hinder the catcher while in the box... how is a ball that has been blocked into the batter and because its been blocked hits her bat and goes out of play the batters fault or an active hinderence to the catcher.
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There is no intent necessary. There was a play in progress and the batter did something that hindered the catcher from making a play on a live ball.
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My rule of thumb bat hits ball (batted ball or ball four or dropped third strike that is on the ground or in the air) a second time we have a dead ball out where as ball hits bat we have nothing. In this case the ball didnt hit the bat a second time. The first time it was hit was the batter standing in the box with a bat in their hands and the catcher blocked it into the batter. How can the batter be punished for being in the box in this situation? I would almost think it should be a foul ball or at least a dead ball in the box. The OP sounds like it was almost instintanious (hope I spelled it ok) and I would have a HARD time awarding bases or calling the batter out. Its definately a difficult application of rules any way you look at it
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I'm sorry, I cannot find the "Rule of Thumb" in ASA's rule book. Page number?
Unfortunately, the umpire doesn't have a choice. If you do not have INT, you have no basis for returning R2 and I guarantee, she will be on 2B before you figure out what happened and killed the play. If not, she is laying down on the ground and you have no bases for ignoring the defenses' inability to put that runner out because the offense hit the ball over the fence, whether it was intentional or not.
And before you start about this rule, yes, I was in the room during discussions and was one of the very few really opposing the change from the previous rule requiring intent at the convention in Colorado Springs. Unfortunately, I had my say in a handful of committees and very little backing from anyone who counts. The only reason the "actively hindering" was allowed to remain in the book is because then-Region 13 UIC, Steve Rollins fought for it to avoid the throwing at the batter's head.
I'm not disagreeing with what you want to do or think is fair, just saying that you don't have much rule book backing for any call other than INT.
Now, if the runners were just standing on the bases (more likely to happen in SP than FP), then there is no play with which to INT and a simple dead ball call is appropriate. You cannot award bases or the offense would be trying to knock every loose ball out of play.