Flinging the Bat rules

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Dixie rulesmakers chose a good word for throwing the bat. Sling means "to cast with a sudden and usually sweeping or swirling motion," exactly what happens when a batter lets go of a bat after a swing. Throw, on the other hand, could apply simply to tossing the bat toward the dugout on the way to first.

In ASA, an unintentionally thrown bat is penalized only if it prevents a fielder from making a play, although the umpire should caution the batter. (Intentional, unsportsmanlike throwing, slinging, flinging, hurling, etc., is something else, of course.)