Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeStrybel
Venditte knew the rule, evidenced by his request for time and signalling to the PU that the batter can change one time. The crew allegedly knew the rule but it appears that the batter didn't.
Venditte stayed off the rubber until he saw the batter step into the box. It would appear that the batter made his decision and the pitcher responded. That would seem to indicate his switch. The rule in place at the time would have prohibited him from changing sides again during that at bat. No verbal 'declaration' was required back then.
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No verbal declaration is required now either.
What makes you think the batter didn't know the rule or that the crew allegedly knew the rule? The old rule was "In the rare occassion of an ambidextrous pitcher, the pitcher and the batter may each change position one time per at bat" But "at bat" was not a defined term; no one knew exactly when an at bat started.
You try to make it sound like you would have known exactly what to do, that you know what the rules meant. But the rules were very unclear, there was no way for you to know. The rules were so unclear that the rules were changed to address this exact situation.