Aren't you the one who regularly defends fractured syntax and ambiguous grammar in rule books with statements like "if you know the game you know what was meant" or some such.
Well, if you know the game...
Seriously, a pitch is coming and the batter can only do 2 things: offer at the pitch (swing, bunt) or take the pitch. If the batter offers at the pitch, the batter either makes contact or does not make contact. If the batter does not make contact on an offer, it is a strike.
So, when the definition says that the batter must withdraw the bat to take, isn't it pretty clear to anyone who knows the game (
) that the alternative if the batter does not withdraw is an offer?
Quote:
Rule 7 SECTION 2 STRIKES, BALLS AND HITS
ART. 1 . . . A strike is charged to the batter when:
b. a pitched ball is struck at and missed.
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It doesn't say "swung at".