Pitch hits the ground

[greymule]

. . . it is a DEAD BALL! Period.

Please—what does "it" refer to? Exactly what is a dead ball? Any ball that hits the ground or plate before it is hit?

If so:

(1) In the two cases in my original post, the pitch is called a ball the same as if the batter did not swing at it.

(2) When the book says, ". . . swings at a pitch after the ball hits the ground or plate," it includes a swing that gets most of the way around—well in front of the plate—before the ball hits the ground or plate

(3) Ref Ump Welsch and mcrowder were taught wrong at their clinics.

Right?

If it's not right, the rule is extremely misleading when it says, "swings . . . after the ball hits the ground or plate," and should be rewritten.