Missed on Test
 

I missed one question on my state exam, but I believe i am correct.

The count is 2-2 and B1 is trying to get out of the way of an inside fastball. As he tries to avoid the pitch, the ball hits his hands on the bat and the ball rolls toward the pitcher in fair territory. The correct call is:
A. Fair ball; the ball remains in play.
B. Foul ball; the batter remains at bat with a 2-2 count.
C. Hit by pitch; send the batter to first base.
D. Dead ball; the batter is charged with a strike, and since the count was 2-2, he is out.

I put A, and it was wrong, but it doesn't tell me the correct answer. i have always believed that hands are part of the bat... i absolutely would not call this a foul ball or a hit by pitch. And i hope it shouldnt be a dead ball because if so, I need to offer some apologies to a lot of teams! ha

This is not an attempt to get help with the test, I have posted multiple times on this forum and replied as well, so i hope i dont get trolled with "we arent doing your homework for you".

It's a foul ball. 5-1-1 and 8-1-1 will help you with this. Is it an online test? The online test usually gives you the rules reference of the ones that you missed.

Whoa, whoa, whoa there.....before we make such a declaration, think about what he said. He said it hit his HANDS. A foul ball is a batted ball that is in foul territory or becomes dead in it (simplified definition). Is that what we have here?

To the OP....consider the definition and requirements of a bat. Do you see any specifications of the hands there? The hands are part of the arm, not the bat.

The answer - if you say it hit his hands first - is C. Everything after the hitting of the hands is irrelevant - getting hit by pitch is ALWAYS an immediate dead ball. You may not send him to first if you think he actively permitted the ball to hit him - but that's a different question.

O.

M.

G.

1) Any prospective umpire who thinks the hands are part of the bat should be disqualified from taking the rest of the test.

2) Foul ball? That's worse.

Answer GIven
 

Apologies for my ignorance. Apparently it is a common misconception that the hands are part of the bat, when in fact they are not. This OP would be to award the hitter 1B just as if it had struck any other part of his body. On the flip side, if the batter had swung at the pitch, and the ball had struck his hands, the call would be a STRIKE and not a foul, just as if the ball had struck any other part of his body during a legal swing.

Correct.

And, one of the goals of these tests is to learn something, so you accomplished that.

I do apologize if I was overly harsh. It's just that this one particular rule is the measuring stick by which we immediately know if a coach (or screaming parent, or sometimes player) is completely unaware of the entire rulebook. If you took ANY class before taking your test (and I hope they make you do that in your area ... although I'm aware that they don't everywhere), then your clinician should have made this rule crystal clear. If they did not, shame on them --- not you.

And as Bob said ... if you learned something today or from the test, then that's great.

Let's look at the main puzzle piece of the initial post...

Inside fastball which I take to mean coming at the batter. In my mind the batter pulls back and the ball strikes his person. I really can care less that the ball hit his hands unless he was swinging at the pitch. Change the body part to the ball hit his ribs, does that change your thought on ball/strike/fair/foul?

In the question there is no mention of a swing so all I have here is a hit batter.

Time.
You first base.

without sounding like a smart a$$. ask yourself this question,

Did he come out of the womb with the bat in his hands?

Or even this. If he lets the bat drop from his hands does it stay in his hands or drop to the ground?

When he bought the bat, did it come with a pair of hands? That's my response to coaches who tell me hands are part of the bat.

If he did not swing, or if his hands were not in the strike zone the answer is C.
If he did the answer is D
http://www.nwumpires.com/home/index....all-rule-myths
See #1 in the above link.

The question said it was inside and the batter was trying to avoid it. The answer is C.

Yes, I know that.
Since the OP found the question confusing I decided to give him some additional
information for future reference.
Who knows, perhaps next year the answer will be D?