HBP Reasonable Effort...
 

What do you guys look for when you look at 'reasonable effort' when a batter is HBP? A flinch, a turn of the shoulder, a movement of the feet? Had a winning run come in on a HBP with bases loaded today...defensive coach gave me some grief, just wondering what you guys look for...

The beauty is, it's a judgement call.

If - in my judgement - the batter tried to get out of the way, we have a HBP. The coach should save his grief for his pitcher.

They stay if they make no effort or they move into the pitch or they get hit by a pitch in the strike zone or while swinging at the pitch.
So a flinch , turn , freeze , would be an effort for me.

You're right, dang judgment calls! I guess we could go into a vast discourse about EFFORT to get out of the way or EFFORT to move enough to get the HBP call.

very high probability

If that ball was in the batters box.. unless they lean into it or are standing there intentionally getting hit (which is a I know it when I see it).. they are going to first. If they are just "frozen" by the pitch, they are still going to first. The batter very much gets a big benefit of the doubt here. Even a decent acting job.. they go to first.

100% with Wade on this one. Send them to 1B. They have so little reaction time, that when they do realize the ball is not over the plate, it is often too late to move.

PS - don't equate this with the baseball "taking one for the team" thing. A male with a much more muscular upper body may be willing to turn a shoulder into a slow sweeping curveball and hope he fools the umpire. That may happen at the adult levels of FP softball, but I've not see too many teenage girls that want to get hit.

WMB

I see it all the time in FL. Even some of our rec ball players have the "take one for the team" attitude. If they're trying to get hit, I keep them at bat.

I agree with wadeintothem. Unless I think they were trying to get hit, or there should be a strike call, they are going to first base.

I was just going to mention this. Many, many times, a hard throwing pitcher who has a lot of movement on the pitch will confuse the batter when she comes inside. Is that the batter's fault? No.

I don't look for "reasonable effort." I look for the absence of "no effort". IOW, some effort. It does not need to be effective; just not "no effort." I also agree that the batter can "freeze" and that is not the same as "no effort."

what they said. reaction time isnt very much. unless they are leaning or turning in to the pitch in an obvious attempt to get hit. It IS a judgement call, but its an easy one.

Twice I have called it when either the ball slipped or something happened with the pitch and we had a slow roll up to the batter and literally the batter watched it roll to her foot and hit her. I am talking so slow her foot almost made the ball stop.

I had a college player make a "kick-save" on a bouncing 0-2 pitch this year -- then take off for first. She got to come back and finish her at bat. :cool:

There was a girl at one of the colleges around here a few years ago who was good at turning, as though she was avoiding the pitch coming inside, and sticking her knee out there to get hit at the same time. I was fooled by her a couple of times, and then got wise to her antics.