dead or live
 

When a runner in contact with the bag is hit by a fair batted ball,shouldn't this play be called dead and is it different for softball and hardball?

Most softball rulesets say the ball is live or dead depending on where the nearest fielder is positioned. If the nearest fielder is in front of the base it is a live ball. If the nearest fielder is behind the base it is a dead ball. Dave

One difference between baseball and softball is that in softball a runner accidently hit by a batted ball while in contact with a base is NOT out. Touching the base provides no such protection in baseball (except on an Infield Fly). In baseball, a runner hit by a batted ball while touching a base is just as out as if hit while off of it- and, yes, the ball is also dead.

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that most softball associations rule the ball either live or dead depending on if it has passed a fielder when the runner is hit while touching a base. Some definitely do, like ASA and NFHS.

Other's don't. For instance, in NSA the ball is automatically dead when it hits a runner on a base, no matter if it's passed a fielder or not. In USSSA, the opposite is true- the ball remains live! But all agree that the runner is not out.

Those are the four rule sets I most commonly deal with- and there are at least a dozen others out there. What the others might do would be pure speculation on my part and I imagine that you might get a real mix of different rulings.

I take back my quote. Dave