Out or continue at bat?
 

NFHS Baseball Rules.

B1 is at bat with a x-2 count. B1 squares to bunt and holds the bat, motionless, in the strike zone. F1's pitch strikes the bat on the knob and ball eventually becomes a foul ball. Is B1 out?

What say you?

MTD, Sr.

Out, of course. The definition of a bunt:

2-8-1: A bunt is a fair ball in which the batter does not swing to hit the ball, but holds the bat in the path of the ball to tap it slowly to the infield. If an attempt to bunt is a foul ball, it is treated the same as any other foul ball, except that if the attempt is by a batter who has two strikes, such batter is out as in 7-4-1e.

By holding the bat motionless, was he holding the bat in the path of the ball? That's exactly what he did - it couldn't have hit the bat if it wasn't in the path of the ball. Now if he tried to pull it back or give SOME indication that he was taking evasive action? Different story. But if he's just going to stand there like a goof? Learn to bunt better, enjoy your short walk back to the dugout.

The ball hit the bat. On the knob. No way was it an attempt to tap the ball.

Foul ball.

Are we all this bored?

Mr DeNucci, please read ur other OP, illegal player!

Unless he was holding the bat by the barrel![emoji12]

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There's some element of HTBT in this. If the ball had barely missed the bat -- would the umpire have judged it to be a strike (on the "swing")? If so, then it's an out. Otherwise it's just a foul ball.

And if the same ball hit the same bat on the same knob and shot out into fair territory, what are you going to call then? Foul ball?

The situation described in the OP is very simple--batter is OUT. Attempt and intention has nothing to do with it.

Understand the difference.

Intent requires the exercise of judgment.

Can you quote that in the rule book? The "intention" part? Just trying to learn here.

Agreed. If a player presents a bat over the plate and makes no attempt whatsoever to pull back or disengage from the pitch, that's quite a bit of intent.

In softball, that's enough intent. In baseball, it's not.

It's only an out if the ball is bunted foul with two strikes. The definition of bunt is that the ball is intentionally met with the bat. Any other contact with the bat is played fair or foul as the case may be.

dont think intent has anything to do with it. Have you ever seen a batter duck from a pitch and have it hit his bat. It happens all the time, most cases a foul ball but certainly no intent to hit the ball.

See my post above yours.

It matters on a bunt. See my response above.