Quote:
Originally Posted by Manny A
Perhaps. But our opinions are based upon the rules as written, and there is nothing in those rules that prohibits a batter from attempting to hit a pitched ball with his bat, no matter where it goes. Some rule sets address carelessly released bats, which happens after the batter hits or misses the pitch, and results in bats flying out of control in any direction. That's not what happens when a batter purposefully tosses his bat towards a pitch in order to make contact.
You really have to be careful when you put safety above the written rules. The game is inherently unsafe to begin with. Umpires who start coming up with rulings based upon safety, such as requiring a pitcher to be removed from the mound after hitting so many batters, set themselves up for problems.
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I agree with your second paragraph - but I disagree that that's what I'm doing. I do not agree that trying to hit a pitch and carelessly releasing a bat are mutually exclusive, nor do the rules make that distinction. Depends how that batter purposefully tosses that bat to make contact. I'm saying that act could be careless. Not necessarily would, but certainly could be. That meets the spirit AND letter of the rules.