Look Ma! No Hands! (bunt)

[mikebran]

I know this is umpire lore, but I have never HAD to answer it, but actual TRUE FACT it just happened. (Not to me, but reported by an Assoc Member). IS there an accepted proper ruling?

R3. 1 out. Suicide Squeeze is ON! Pitch to LH batter is way outside. Batter maintains his position IN BOX but his lunge across releases bat and BAT sans any hands or human contact contacts pitch in flight prior to reaching front plane of plate. Ball goes 4 feet ahead in fair territory. Bat falls to ground. R3 crosses plate... pitcher fields and throws to first.

Or short version, can you "throw" a bat at a ball legally?

[ozzy6900]

The short answer to the short version.............. yes!

[Tim C]

100% legal play at all levels of big boy ball.

[SanDiegoSteve]

And all levels of little boy ball, as far as I know. Perfectly legal. Batters throw the bat at the ball on hit and run plays all the time when the pitch is out of reach.

[Kevin Finnerty]

When Todd Zeile was with the Yankees, he threw his bat at a pitch-out with a runner going to second, and hit a perfect hit-and-run bullet through the vacated 3-4 hole. It was the greatest thrown-bat base hit I ever saw---on a pitch-out!

Tony Oliva of the Twins used to throw his bat at pitches all the time. He flung it on a lot of follow-throughs, too.

[Ump153]

The point is moot, since the hands are part of the bat, it's impossible to throw a bat at a pitch.

[ozzy6900]

Originally Posted by Ump153

The point is moot, since the hands are part of the bat, it's impossible to throw a bat at a pitch.