Ambidexterous Pitcher

[MikeStrybel]

Originally Posted by Cobra

No verbal declaration is required now either.

I responded to Bob's statement that 'neither had declared'. In post #7 I provided the current PBUC standard. Both the pitcher and batter must inform the PU of an intent to change. That would be a declaration.

What makes you think the batter didn't know the rule or that the crew allegedly knew the rule?

Okay, maybe he knew the rule and was simply trying to get away with breaking it.

The old rule was "In the rare occassion of an ambidextrous pitcher, the pitcher and the batter may each change position one time per at bat" But "at bat" was not a defined term; no one knew exactly when an at bat started.

Really?

You try to make it sound like you would have known exactly what to do, that you know what the rules meant. But the rules were very unclear, there was no way for you to know. The rules were so unclear that the rules were changed to address this exact situation.

The rule was not changed. It was merely clarified to put the onus on the pitcher for demonstrating intent. Both players involved are still allowed one change per at bat. See post #7.

We have several guidelines to use for batters being 'at bat'. Are you implying that you are unclear what constitutes such?

I believe that I would not have let this matter drag on for several minutes, like they did. At minimum, I would have conferred with my partner and set a course of action that would get the game going quicker. There are numerous TWPs that are not mentioned specifically in the rule book. Sometimes we just have to umpire.