Quote:
Originally Posted by CelticNHBlue
Mike-
This has actually been the directive to umpires for a few years now. We (umpires, ok Emily) have been pushing to get the wording in the rules to align with what was reasonable to judge as an attempt to avoid being hit. The premise is that the ball does not belong in the batter's box. The reasoning behind the change was due to very inconsistent application of the hbp rule.
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The inconsistent application I can buy, but to change a rule for that reason is ridiculous.
I think part of the issue is that too many people have bought into the coach's argument that it was the pitcher's fault because the pitch "froze" the batter. Bull!
While my primary game is presently SP, I've been doing this for a while, and I've never had a problem judging a batter's reaction, or lack of, to a pitched ball and that includes that little ball game.
And if the ball "does not belong in the batter's box", why do we rule on an unintentional batted ball if it hits the bat "in the batter's box"?
IMO, this is a weak.