Stolen from eteamz

[Steve M]

Originally Posted by kcg NC2Ablu

in 7.6.Q the batter has to actively hinder the catcher while in the box... how is a ball that has been blocked into the batter and because its been blocked hits her bat and goes out of play the batters fault or an active hinderence to the catcher. My rule of thumb bat hits ball (batted ball or ball four or dropped third strike that is on the ground or in the air) a second time we have a dead ball out where as ball hits bat we have nothing. In this case the ball didnt hit the bat a second time. The first time it was hit was the batter standing in the box with a bat in their hands and the catcher blocked it into the batter. How can the batter be punished for being in the box in this situation? I would almost think it should be a foul ball or at least a dead ball in the box. The OP sounds like it was almost instintanious (hope I spelled it ok) and I would have a HARD time awarding bases or calling the batter out. Its definately a difficult application of rules any way you look at it

I can see the active interference way of looking at this - the batter moved in a way that was not part of batting. However, I agree with you in that I don't like the idea of punishing a batter for a situation that the catcher caused by misplaying the pitch. I believe that I can easily sell this as a pitch that has gone out of play - ball on batter, runners advance 1 base from TOP. This can't be a foul - the ball came off of the catcher's shin guard. I don't see how I can get just a dead ball on this.