Sacrifice?

[speedracer]

gmckinney was correct that Official Rule 10.00 requires a sacrifice to be a fly ball or a bunt, although there are sections that are worded in a way that might make you think a regular hit ball could be a sacrifice.

Speaking of intent, I think bluezebra meant that you can tell from the game situation (not from body language, crowd reaction, overheard comments, or mind reading) whether or not a player bunted in an intent to sacrifice or not.

After Rule 10.00 states that the Official Scorer must judge the 'intent' of the batter, it goes on to add a caveat: the scorer should always give the benefit of the doubt to the batter.

I score a good bit of Little League in addition to 'older' games, so here's how I apply that rule:

1. Little Leaguers age 12 and under play on a 60' diamond. On a field that size, considering the speed of runners compared to the average skill level of the fielders, players have a reasonable chance of bunting for a hit, and often do.

Therefore, if a batter bunts the ball and runs hard to first, I'll score the play as though the batter was trying for a hit. If the batter achieves a base hit, I'll score it as a hit. If the result of the play is anything else (putout, fielder's choice, error, etc.) and there were fewer than 2 outs when the player came to bat, then, if the batter successfully advanced a runner AND no other runners were put out, I'll score it as a sac bunt.

2. For games on a 90' diamond (i.e., age 13 and up), a bunt will rarely result in a base hit. Therefore, I assume the batter is attempting a sacrifice bunt if there are fewer than 2 outs and there is a runner on first base or third base. [Naturally, the batter had to advance a runner AND no other runner was put out.] Players rarely try to sacrifice to advance a runner from second to third (since the runner is already in 'scoring position'), so I normally won't score a sac bunt in that situation unless I have some other evidence that the player intended to sacrifice.

I hope this helps.