Dead ball or not???

[akalsey]

At the risk of hijacking this thread, that's the problem with local rules. No one really thinks them through and they are rife with ambiguity and sometimes unintentionally conflict with other rules.

How do you call a person out for throwing a bat? The defense did nothing to earn the out. And how far does the bat have to travel before it is considered thrown? 3 feet? What if someone tosses it 2 feet, 10 inches? Assuming that this rule is to prevent dangerous flying objects, do you award a batter first if the catcher throws his mask?

What if the batter takes ball 4 and then tosses his bat to the dugout? Is he out? What happens to runners on base?

What happens if he hits a home run and when dropping the bat it travels "too far?" Is he out? What about the runners? When does the out occur? At the time the bat is thrown, on appeal, or at the end of the play?

Was any of this considered when creating a rule that you can't throw a bat?