Quote:
Originally Posted by BretMan
Cool. So two highly respected ASA umpires and clinicians have offered a concrete guideline for calling this play. Of course, the fact that they needed to define it themselves does kind of illustrate the fact that a definition is lacking in the rule book
|
I don't think it is that difficult to understand ASA's take on in/out of the box. To me, the demands of rule is clear, and as stated earlier, you are in the box until you are out of it.
Touching the ground outside of the line of the batter's box, visible or perceived, is out of the box. For a legal pitch to be thrown, the entire foot must be inside the lines. To legally hit the ball, a foot must not be completely outside of the lines. And since the foot must be on the ground to be out of the box, a foot off the ground is......well, just a foot off the ground. The rules also state that a batter may not leave the box then re-enter it and hit the ball. Does that mean if the batter jumps straight up in the air and then lands in the box they (thats for you, Tom) have left the box? Of course, not. Why? Because the batter's foot/feet did not touch completely outside of the lines.
Since the discussion is hitting the ball, this is the application to which the umpire (in ASA) should refer.