Bunt attempt

[MNBlue]

Originally Posted by Rita C

In softball, if a batter holds the bat over the plate and does not move it when the pitch comes in, this is judged as an attempt and therefore called a strike.

I believe it was on this board where someone explained why this makes sense for softball and why it can be considered an attempt even if the pitch comes in out of the strike zone.

Could someone reiterate that for me?

Rita

Rita,

IMO -the rule is in place for NCAA and trickled down to other rule sets is that coaches felt the batter could be attempting to bunt a ball without actually moving it toward the ball. The batter would just hold the bat without moving it and if the ball hit the bat, they have successfully bunted the ball, which is what they wanted to do anyway. If the ball missed the bat, it would be called a ball if it was out of the strike zone.

Just a guess.