BTW, Michelle Smith proved that you needn't be a blond softball player to say stupid things on TV.

In the USA/UCLA game, a ball seemed to catch the knob of the bat and fingers of the batter on a high, inside pitch.

Smith tripped over it, but much to my chagrin, eventually got out something along the line of "when the hands are on the bat they are considered part of the bat."

I cringed, then laughed. Will they never get the idea that there should be someone with just a bit of rules knowledge involved in these broadcasts?

Just think of all the fun we would miss at not having the "Player's Perspective" !! It makes you wonder sometimes if these folks really think all umpires are out to intentionally miss pitches or call batters out on strikes for grins and giggles? "Don't trust the Blue!" is one of my personal favorites!

Cant ASA print on the cover of the the rule book.. in big bold.. instead of demarini or whatever, HANDS ARE NOT PART OF THE BAT.

Not that that would help I suppose... but if it caused me to hear that just one less time in a season.. it would be worth it.

Rules
 

Same game- USA player slap hit -clearly out of box -no call.
What rules do they play under- NCAA or International?

Re: Rules
 

NCAA 11-2-e "...the batter may contact the pitch when an entire foot is touching the ground completely outside the lines of the batters box."

<b>NCAA 11-2-e "...the batter may contact the pitch when an entire foot is touching the ground completely outside the lines of the batters box."</b>

Left out the word NOT. May NOT touch contact the pitch........

That being said, it is hardly ever called.

kellerumps,
Maybe NCAA omitted a word, but my quote is correct. ;)
mick

By word of mouth, I heard that some of the players in this area know which umpires will call them for being out of the box and which won't...RIGHT BANDIT?

They also know where our strike zones are...either they have scouting reports on us, or we've done too many games in this area.

Slappers
 

You would'nt be talking about second basepersons would you Mr.FUBLUE ??? Then you get some that need to nominated for an award when they say "but blue ??? I've never been called for that before".

C'mon, FUBLUE,
What's the rest of the story?
mick

I think NCAA did omit the word NOT
 

Here is the quoted rule from the NCAA website...

http://www.ncaa.com/library/rules/20...ball_rules.pdf

NCAA Softball Rule 11-2e.
e. At the moment of bat-ball contact, the batter may not contact the pitch when any part of the foot is touching home plate, even though she may be touching the lines of the batter’s box. In addition, the batter may contact the pitch when an entire foot is touching the ground completely outside the lines of the batter’s box.
EFFECT—The batter shall be declared out immediately, whether the ball is fair or foul. The ball is dead.
Notes:
1. The batter’s hands may leave the bat before bat-ball contact.
2. In cases where there are no batter’s box lines evident, good judgment must be used, and the benefit of any doubt must go to the batter.

The gist of everything there (effects and penalties) sounds like NOT should be in the second sentence - why would Note #2 be there if the batter was allowed to stand outside the box to make a hit?

That must be where the problem is... Michelle Smith has a deal with Worth, not DeMarini. :D

My DD loved her bats - good balance, not end-weighted. Had one shear just above the hands while in the batting cage. She still has it (both pieces), and pulls it out every once in a while to show non-believers.

Michelle did the LL world series last year. I heard the kids enjoyed seeing her around the field and getting to meet her. I saw on TV that she has never read a rule book. Brian

Re: I think NCAA did omit the word NOT
 

YU.P.
Yet, to add smoke and mirrors, the second permission is immediately preceded by an initial permission.

<LI>e. At the moment of bat-ball contact, the batter may not contact the pitch when any part of the foot is touching home plate, even though<B><Font color = red> she <U>may</U> be touching the lines of the batter’s box.</B></Font> In addition, the batter may contact the pitch when an entire foot is touching the ground completely outside the lines of the batter’s box.

(<I>It is clear, that on a running slap hit, the steps must be taken in the box.</I>)

Regardless of the intention, the wording could be reworked.
To interpret, we must ask, "...In addition to what?" :cool:
mick

Rest of the Story
 

By word of mouth, I heard that some of the players in this area know which umpires will call them for being out of the box and which won't...RIGHT BANDIT?

They also know where our strike zones are...either they have scouting reports on us, or we've done too many games in this area. [/B][/QUOTE]

C'mon, FUBLUE,
What's the rest of the story?
mick [/B][/QUOTE]

Mick. FUBLUE and myself (Bandit) umpire both together for high school ball, college, and summer travel tournaments. And in such, we see alot of girls at different times. And slappers do tend to learn which umpires will call the penatly and which ones don't.

Re: Rest of the Story
 

Interesting, Bandit.
So, the players just adjust and no one questions the interpretations? :)
mick

I watched the first few innings of this game also. What I heard was something to the effect of "If the ball hits the batters hands, it's automatically a foul ball" or some such drivel after much stumbling around. I yelled pretty loudly at the TV, which my better half did not appreciate too much!

I also liked the UCLA pitcher who kept throwing the ball inside and wondering why she wasn't getting strike calls. Guess what, she needs to adjust to the umpires zone, not the other way around!

There you go, proof positive, THE BAT IS PART OF THE HANDS!

BTW, I may be wrong 'cause I missed any umpire intros, but I thought I knew the plate umpire for that game. I was bouncing around between the game and the race, so I didn't get a good look at her, but if it is who I think it is, she may have changed her 3rd strike mechanics over the past year or so.

Nonetheless, I thought she stayed with her zone the entire game. The inside pitches were inside, or at least that's the way they looked to me a couple thousand miles away.

I need to show this to my wife to prove I was not the only person in the world who did this :)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by IRISHMAFIA
Exactly my point, Mike! I agree completely and I was much closer to the game, only about 400 miles away! :)

I missed the umpire intros as well (if there were any). Who did you think it was? I know a few blues out of SoCal, but I did not recognize any of them either. Send it to me via email if you like.