Hit by pitch
 

If there is a pitch that you are unclear whether it hit the person or the bat, have you ever checked the player for signs of contact?

ie..Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | SD@LAD: Johnson awarded first upon umpire inspection - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia

I personally have never gone there. I will live and die by my call in that situation but perhaps I'm wrong.

OT: I'm glad that I'm not the only one that occasionally blinks on this play ;)

-Josh

The first thing we need to check is where did the ball go? If it's rolling in, or near fair territory, we've got to be damn sure it didn't catch the bat before killing it.

So, if the ball's not going to be in play, I'll just kill it, and take a moment to check the batter's reaction. A full second is enough. Remember, it's really tough to go by sound, and a ball hitting the knuckles sounds just like a ball hitting the bat. You'll get the same PING! or KNOCK!

I had one of these last night. Tough to see, certainly, but it appeared to me the ball hit the knob of the bat. I called it foul.

Manager asked the player where it hit -- kid said, "It hit the knob of the bat."

Damn my eyesight is good. (Actually, I guessed well based on my quick read.)

A replay on QuickPitch showed Hernandez kill the play shortly after the ball glanced off the batter and point to first for the award. That would seem to indicate that he had determined his call a second or two after the play, just as taught. While he does seem to be a magnet (along with Drake) for controversy, it looks like he did his job here. Good call, even with the eyes closed.

Thanks for the additional info. Not that I believe the announcers but why else look at his hand if you're the umpire *shrug*

-Josh

Gotta love the TH's "the hands are part of the bat" commentary near the end of the vid. Sheesh.

Considering how lots of batter grip the bat with the pinkie below the knob, you would think the myth would be "the knob is part of the hands" lol. I'd love to hear somebody ask his booth partner, "OK, Joe, if the hands are part of the bat, then a ball hit fair off the hands is in play, right?" There should be a league directive to the announcers with a list of myths they should stop perpetuating!

I think he made that comment based on the knowledge of a batter being hit by a pitch while swinging. Listen to it again and it sounds like he was trying to say that it doesn't matter if he was hit if he struck at the ball. I once had a partner, an excellent umpire who frequents this board, who said something similar and got away with it during a blow out game. We got a good laugh in the locker room after. He said that he was trying to say that the hands aren't part of the bat but it came out too fast and the coach was too slow. ;)

And, of course, an obligatory call for instant replay.

I actually laughed out loud at this: "What's going on here, now? Uh-oh . . . Angel Hernandez . . . we made it through eight innings without him being involved in something unusual, now what's he gonna do? . . . You know, you just see his name as one of the umpiring crew and . . ."