Bretman bunt question??

[GOINGDEEP]

Bret, got a question I'm not sure the answer to.

Ok, bunted ball fair by LH batter this weekend. Ball is still rolling, bat has been dropped with head in fair territory. The bat is not moving, the ball rolls into the bat. Play is called fair.

Next game new umpire. Same girl bunted ball fair, ball and bat still moving when dropped, ball rolls into bat. Batter called out.

One ump said if ball rolls into a 'still' bat fair play?? But if the bat hits the ball ( while bat moving ) batter is out??

ASA umps. Thanks.

 

[abbygale]

Good question, This weekend at USSSA, bunt and dropped moving bat hits moving ball in fair territory. Called foul. Any ideas?

 

[lawdawg]

I always been told that if bat hits ball - dead ball; however, if ball hits bat - live ball.

 

[Greenmonsters]

While waiting for Brettman, I say both the described examples are live ball situations. Batter is only out if the bat intentionally hits the ball in fair territory.

 

[BretMan]

They both sound like live balls to me. Here's the rule of thumb on these plays:

If the bat hit the ball it is interference- dead ball and the batter is out.

If the ball hits the bat it's not interference- live ball, play on.

That rule of thumb will probably cover 99% of plays involving "bat/ball contact" after the batter has hit the ball and discarded her bat. There are a couple of other possibilities that might come into play- and one rare exception to this rule.

- What the umpire told you about the ruling being different if the bat and ball are still moving wasn't accurate. For instance, if the bat is rolling away from the ball, but the ball "catches up to it" and hits it, that would still be treated the same as the ball hitting the bat (ie: not interference).

- It makes a difference if the two come together over fair or foul territory.

If the two make contact over foul territory- no matter which hit the other- then it is simply a foul ball.

If the ball hits the bat over fair territory (not interference) then it's not an automatic fair ball. It's a live ball, but it still isn't fair or foul until it meets the usual "fair/foul" definitions (like, where the ball eventually stops rolling or where it's first touched by a player).

- The one rare exception to the "ball hits bat/bat hits ball" rule of thumb is if the umpire judges that the batter intentionally discarded her bat to allow the ball to hit it. For example, if the ball is rolling up the first base line and the batter were to intentionally drop her bat in front of it, if the ball hit the bat it would be interference, even though the bat might be stationary when the ball hit it. This is the exception to the rule- and one I have never had to call in a game! But is a rule, nevertheless.

 

[abbygale]

So in the one I described, the bat caught up with the ball in fair territory and actually hit the ball closer to the pitcher. No foul ball should have been callled but instead should have been dead ball and batter out.

 

[BretMan]

So in the one I described, the bat caught up with the ball in fair territory and actually hit the ball closer to the pitcher. No foul ball should have been callled but instead should have been dead ball and batter out.

As described, there wouldn't be any reason to call this a foul ball- unless something else happened, like the ball touching the batter or her bat in the batter's box after the bunt and before the bat and ball came together again. Otherwise, this sounds like a perfect example of the bat hitting the ball and should have been ruled as interference.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Thanks Bret for the answer.

 

[BretMan]

If you were watching the Reds/Phillies playoff game today, you saw an application of this rule on the final play of the game.

Phillips tapped one out in front of the plate, headed for first and dropped his bat. The bat stopped on the ground and the ball rolled into the bat. No interference on that one! As soon as the catcher touched the ball, the plate umpire signalled "fair" and Phillips was thrown out at first base.

 

[PA SB Dad]

If you were watching the Reds/Phillies playoff game today, you saw an application of this rule on the final play of the game.

Phillips tapped one out in front of the plate, headed for first and dropped his bat. The bat stopped on the ground and the ball rolled into the bat. No interference on that one! As soon as the catcher touched the ball, the plate umpire signalled "fair" and Phillips was thrown out at first base.

Perfect timing - and an AWESOME GAME!! GO Phils!!