Hi. I'm new to the forum. Need a ruling on this
situation that occured during a game. Situation:
infield back, runner on first gets hit with a
batted ball while ON the bag. Umpire calls
dead ball, BATTER OUT, runner safe (as opposed to
runner OFF bag where HE is out and batter is safe.)
The rule book clearly states that the RUNNER is
NEVER out if ON the base and ONLY mentions that
it will be a live or dead ball with regards to
the positioning of the fielders (in front of
runner/live ball, behind runner/dead ball) but
doesn't mention WHAT HAPPENS IF DECLARED A
DEAD BALL! Is it a HIT? Is the batter OUT,
runners return to bases? It doesn't mention
what becomes of the batter. Can anyone help?

The answer can actually be found in ASA rule 11 (Scoring), precisely rule 11.2.B-3c:

<i>A base hit is a fair batted ball that allows the batter to reach 1st base safely when the fair batted ball which has not been touched by a fielder becomes dead because of touching an umpire or a runner.</i>

That pretty much says it all, I think.

In ASA, assuming the runner did not intentionally get in the way of the ball, and with the nearest fielder behind the runner, the call is this:

Dead ball, batter goes to first, and other runners move up only when forced. (Same goes for Fed, I'm pretty sure.) The ump in your play made the wrong call.

Thanks for your reply. I'd suppose that it
could fall under that scoring rule as it
is the closest thing thus far that I've
seen come close to addressing the situation.
However, it still seems a bit vague to me.
That rule also applies when a runner is
OFF the base; the RUNNER is out, the ball is dead,
and it is SCORED a BASEHIT for the batter.
The rule accounts for the scoring of a basehit,
but there is still an out on the play. I guess
it could imply that since the runner is never
out when hit while on the base (covered in rule
8, I think), and since it falls under the
scoring rule (11) definition of a basehit,
one could assume the batter is awarded first.
But I also think that it could also fall under
the interference rules since the fielders
were BEHIND the runner (which is why the
RUNNER is out when hit while OFF the base
with the fielders behind him) Still, this
is the best explaination I've seen so far.
Thanks.

Thanks Greymule!

I can't think of a set of rules in which the <b>batter</b> would be called out in this situation - definitely the wrong call.

In some organizations (Little League - for example), the base is not a "safe haven" for the runner. The runner would be out and the batter awarded 1st base.

Other organizations (as stated above) allow the runner to be hit if on the base without penalty.

-Kono

Interesting! Another rules difference between baseball and softball. In baseball, the runner is out even if he is in contact with the base in this situation (except on an infield fly).

In Little League, the rule is the same for baseball <b>AND</b> softball.

-Kono