Bunt rule

[khumbert45]

I'm looking to settle something me and a co-worker were discussing today about bunting. In acquiring my license to do high school games last year, I remember them saying that a player had to "offer at" the pitch if it is out of the strike zone for it to be a strike.

In looking at the NFHS rule book, it says nothing about "offering at" a pitch. It defines a bunt as "a fair ball in which the batter does not swing to hit the ball, but holds the bat in the path of the ball to tap it slowly to the infield."

So my question is, if a kid squares to bunt, the ball goes out of the strike zone, and the kid doesn't move his bat to try making contact, is that a ball? I was always taught as a kid that you had to pull the bat back if it was out of the strike zone and that if I kept the bat out there, then it would be called a strike. Was this just inaccurate coaching?

Thanks ahead of time for whoever can provide some clarification.

[Tim C]

Going from memory here . . . maybe Mbyron or Bob J will give details.

To work Federation Baseball you must reference more than the rule book. The Case Book (some where around 7.2 or 7.5) gives the play stating "the bat does not need to be pulled back" there must be an "offer".

T

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by khumbert45

I'm looking to settle something me and a co-worker were discussing today about bunting. In acquiring my license to do high school games last year, I remember them saying that a player had to "offer at" the pitch if it is out of the strike zone for it to be a strike.

In looking at the NFHS rule book, it says nothing about "offering at" a pitch. It defines a bunt as "a fair ball in which the batter does not swing to hit the ball, but holds the bat in the path of the ball to tap it slowly to the infield."

So my question is, if a kid squares to bunt, the ball goes out of the strike zone, and the kid doesn't move his bat to try making contact, is that a ball? I was always taught as a kid that you had to pull the bat back if it was out of the strike zone and that if I kept the bat out there, then it would be called a strike. Was this just inaccurate coaching?

Thanks ahead of time for whoever can provide some clarification.

What you were taught as a kid is not the current correct rule for NFHS (depending on ruleset, it may have been the rule in your organization when you were a kid). The words Offer At are not in the book, but swing is. Basically, for a pitch out of the strike zone to be a strike, the batter must attempt to hit it.

[rbmartin]

Rule 7 section 2 Art 1b
A strike is charged to a batter when a pitch is struck at and missed.

Casebook 7.2.1 situation B.........The mere holding of the bat in the strike zone is not an attempt to bunt.

Rule 10 section 1 Art 4a The umpire in chief sometimes asks for the aid from the base umpire when there is a question as to whether a batters "half swing" is such as to be called a strike. As an aid in deciding , the umpire may note whether the swing carried the barrel of the bat past the body of the batter, but final decision is based on whether the batter actually struck at the ball.

[khumbert45]

Thanks for the quick replies. I looked through the casebook as well but missed it.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by khumbert45

Thanks for the quick replies. I looked through the casebook as well but missed it.

FED makes this explicit, but it's the same for OBR by interp. Holding the bat out by itself does not constitute offering at the pitch.

[nopachunts]

In reality, if the Batter leaves the bat out there, it had either be perfectly still or moving AWAY from the pitch. Any movement towards the pitch, I have a "Yes he did".

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by nopachunts

In reality, if the Batter leaves the bat out there, it had either be perfectly still or moving AWAY from the pitch. Any movement towards the pitch, I have a "Yes he did".

In reality, that's what everyone else has said: merely holding the bat out is not by itself an offer at the pitch.

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by nopachunts

In reality, if the Batter leaves the bat out there, it had either be perfectly still or moving AWAY from the pitch. Any movement towards the pitch, I have a "Yes he did".

Needs to be an attempt to hit the pitch, not a robotic response.

[nopachunts]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

Needs to be an attempt to hit the pitch, not a robotic response.

Nothing robotic about it, if the bat moves toward the pitch, I have an offer at the pitch.