What are the rules governing a thrown bat?
 

Adult Men's Slow Pitch- One umpire

The batter swings and hits the ball. He throws the bat which hits the catcher
and the umpire. The catcher is cut badly and has to leave the game to go to the hospital for stitches. The umpire ends up walking with a little limp. The thrown bat does not appear to be intentional. What would be your response as PU?

Speaking ASA

Avoid the bat. :D

Ouch!!!!!!

As Van Halen said,
"Jump!"

So did the Pointer Sisters.

Willie, in case you haven't figured it out yet, with all the kidding going on, but there is no rule, in most codes, governing the situation you posted here. Some organizations such as Dixie, have a "safety" rule where the batter would be warned in this situation, and repeating the act would result in her being called out. However, ASA, USSSA, and most others have no rule governing this.

NFHS
First offense - Team Warning
Subsequent - Player restricted to bench

Yes, I loved Jump! (on my love).

For those my age...(and no, you don't get to guess) Kris Kross had a song named Jump as well.

Too late, I'm guessing anyway! Late 20s to early 30s. I'll say... 32.

In some ASA Men's SP leagues I work, there are a few players who throw their bats often. I give them a warning after the first time. The few times it's happened a second time, they are gone. As a younger umpire, who works these games alone, I am hustling out into the field around the RH batter's box to get into position as soon as the ball is hit, and these few players who throw their bat either do so right at me or at the F2.

In New Haven, CT, about a decade ago, a batter forcefully threw his bat in anger at having popped up. The handle end of the bat went through the chain-link backstop. Someone happened to be right there on the other side, with their face right against the fence. The bat went into the person's skull, and the person became a vegetable, because the batter threw their bat. Huge lawsuits were filed against everyone involved.

Now, the city rules are such that if someone throws a bat there at all, they are done playing for the season.

I don't tolerate any bat throwing, especially when the F2 get's hit, and they are the most vulnerable. There is no reason to allow any bat throwing.

Yes, but there's a difference between throwing a bat in anger, a bat slipping out of someone's hands, and a batter who simply hasn't figured out how/when to let go of a bat after a hit. Throwing a bat in anger, in ASA, is covered by the rules supplement: ejection. A bat that slips out of a player's hands by accident is nothing.

However, what to do in the case of a batter who simply doesn't know how to drop/toss the bat after a hit? Some umpires view it as USC, and give a warning the first time, eject the second time. However, being that there's nothing in the ASA rule book that covers this act specifically, it would be hard to back this up. Most of the players who do this are your typical rec-league class C/D players, who simply want to play some ball and have some fun, then go out to the local pub and laugh about it later (some do it in reverse order, but that's another subject). I typically warn the player quietly the first time, then warn the player and coach/captain the second time. Usually, that does the trick, and no one loses face. I've never had to toss anyone for a third thrown bat, even though I've "threatened" it.

Should this latter case be considered USC? I can't quite bring myself to say yes, but at the same time, the safety issue does need to somehow be addressed. Perhaps it's better addressed by the leagues themselves, as ASA probably assumes that since their rules are for championship play, most championship-level teams shouldn't have this problem.

My suggestion on how to handle this situation. You talk to the batter and coach and warn both that the batter must immediately learn how to dispose of the bat in a safe manner. Remind them that there is no rule stating the batter must release the bat AT ANY TIME.

If it happens again with the same batter, tell the coach that for safety concerns, that player can no longer participate in that game. Undoubtedly, the coach will say, "You're ejecting the player?" and your response is, "No, Coach, I'm simply saying that this game cannot proceed with that player in the line-up". If this forces the team into a short-handed situation, no problem since it was not caused by an ejection.

You want to cite the God rule, 10.1 will do it. What you are actually doing is taking the precaution of not continuing the game under unsafe conditions.

I like it, I like it. No one's tossed, safety's kept as a major priority. I'll ponder my wording over the next 24 hours, as the fall season starts up tomorrow.

I was working a pool play game in OKC last week and had a young lady launch her bat, which narrowly missed F2 and myself. Being pool play, it was a fairly relaxed, almost scrimmage-like atomosphere; AND, being OKC, it was REALLY HOT. I told the coach that I would like him to let the young lady know to be careful with her bat, because she nearly hit me with it. I then told the coach, that if I get hit with a bat, SOMEONE is buying me ice cream. The coach then yells to the young lady that she hit me with the bat and has to buy me ice cream. She yells, "Chocoate or vanilla?"

Didn't have a problem with flying bats after that.