LOL you are living proof of why the internet should have an IQ requirement.Was great. Hows 4th grade going?
LOL you are living proof of why the internet should have an IQ requirement.Was great. Hows 4th grade going?
As an ump I have made this call and have zero qualms about doing so. I've also had kids get hit by a CU without an attempt to get out of the way, they start to jog to 1B and I tell them "Get back here; that's a ball; you made no effort to avoid the pitch." The umpire is quite used to being the "bad person" and needs to be able to accept that or they are in the wrong line of work.From the catching perspective it's pretty easy to see when there are body parts in the river or crossing the plate.
That said think it puts umpires in a weird situation because when a batter does get hit by the pitch...
And the batter is all
'OUCH' about it
The umpire is the person that has to say
'NOPE' it's your own fault you leaned into it or turned your body into it.
And it makes the Umpire the bad person.
Especially because MOST EVERYONE AT THE FIELD COULDNT SEE WHAT THE BATTER DID.
It extra tough because
batters get hit by pitches both intentionally or unfortunately.
(But this is just like many of the obstruction calls made.)
*Doesnt matter intent.
What matters is the batter put themself in the wrong place!
Call it.
Here's a tip
Can always have the catcher or pitcher ask politely
'Pardon, Umpire, are batters allowed to get into the way of the pitch? Outside the box?'
The answer should Clarify the rule.
Unfortunately if the umpire doesn't call it immediately it's probably already in the past but at least a polite question pointing out an issue can create awareness.
Really interesting article highlighting how armor is impacting the game. Several posters above have presented elbow guards as passive pieces of protective equipment. Well they may be used that way by individual players, but that’s not always the case.Just to add a little article with some #'s
https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/05/17/corey-seager-injury-hbp-epidemic-the-opener