Moving the bat

[chapmaja]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

Fair question.

I've never seen (while umpiring or observing umpires):
A) A thrown ball hit a discarded bat.
B) A runner or fielder trip over a discarded bat.
C) A play affected in any way, positive or negative, by a discarded bat (other than, of course, the batted ball hitting a bat or a discarded bat hitting a batted ball ... which is surely outside the scope of what we're talking about here)

a) I have never seen a thrown ball hit a discarded bat.
b) I have not seen a player trip over a discarded bat, HOWEVER, twice this season (in 2 games behind the plate) I have seen a runner slide over the top of a bat which was discarded on the baseline just outside the batters box.
c) I have seen discarded bats that have been tossed back and hit the catcher or umpire, but to my knowledge they have not actually impact the play.