Does the bat have hands?

[Jeffrey A. Mathison]

In a recent Town & Country Tournament game, the plate umpire ruled that a pitch that struck a hitter on the hands was a "foul ball" because the hands and fingers are part of the bat. The pitched ball was not in the strike zone, the batter attempted to avoiid being hit, and the batter was not swinging. I say the batter is awarded first base. How do you convince someone that the bat doesn't have hands?