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Contact with foot out of batter's box

EH Emanski's Heroes1,000+ posts
I should already know this, and I thought I did, but a situation this weekend called into question what I thought I knew.

I had always thought/assumed that if a batter made contact with the ball with a foot outside of the batter's box on either a swing or bunt, then the batter was out. However, in a game this weekend, the umpire seemed to make a distinction between whether the batters foot is in fair or foul territory. He said if the batter's foot is in fair territory, then it's an out. But, if his foot was in foul territory when he made contact then it's just a foul ball. So which is it?
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B bhamump10+ posts
Rule
6.06
A batter is out for illegal action when --
(a) He hits a ball with one or both feet on the ground entirely outside the batter’s box.
Rule 6.06(a) Comment: If a batter hits a ball fair or foul while out of the batter’s box, he shall be called out. Umpires should pay particular attention to the position of the batter’s feet if he attempts to hit the ball while he is being intentionally passed. A batter cannot jump or step out of the batter’s box and hit the ball.

The batter is out if he has one or both feet completely out of the batters box either in foul or fair territory before he makes contact with the ball. The batter can make contact with the ball before he steps to the ground outside of the box.
EH Emanski's Heroes1,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by bhamump:
Rule
6.06
A batter is out for illegal action when --
(a) He hits a ball with one or both feet on the ground entirely outside the batter’s box.
Rule 6.06(a) Comment: If a batter hits a ball fair or foul while out of the batter’s box, he shall be called out. Umpires should pay particular attention to the position of the batter’s feet if he attempts to hit the ball while he is being intentionally passed. A batter cannot jump or step out of the batter’s box and hit the ball.

The batter is out if he has one or both feet completely out of the batters box either in foul or fair territory before he makes contact with the ball. The batter can make contact with the ball before he steps to the ground outside of the box.


Just what I thought, no distinction between whether he steps into fair or foul territory.
CD Cutter Dad10+ posts
Thanks for the scorekeeping info. My daughters fastpitch softball team had 2 batters called out for contact in front of the box last week. Neither were slap hitters, but they had moved up slightly to avoid some bad divots. There was no chalk for batters box, so when our coach asked the umpire nicely to mark a line where the front of the box was so the girls would know, he just replied "I know where it is".
M Matt1310,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by Tangents23:
So a batter would be out if he bails out on an up in in fastball and steps out of the box to avoid the pitch but the ball deflects off his bat?


There's no way I'm going to be able to see his feet--if that ball's up and in, I have to concentrate on that moreso than other pitches, since it has the possibility of contacting the batter or his bat.

So, pragmatically speaking, you will probably never see it called.
Jimmy03Jimmy031,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by Matt13:
quote:
Originally posted by Tangents23:
So a batter would be out if he bails out on an up in in fastball and steps out of the box to avoid the pitch but the ball deflects off his bat?


There's no way I'm going to be able to see his feet--if that ball's up and in, I have to concentrate on that moreso than other pitches, since it has the possibility of contacting the batter or his bat.

So, pragmatically speaking, you will probably never see it called.


What he said.
D dash_riprock1,000+ posts
quote:
Originally posted by Tangents23:
So a batter would be out if he bails out on an up in in fastball and steps out of the box to avoid the pitch but the ball deflects off his bat?


In the literal sense of the rule, yes. But I agree with Matt and Jimmy that you will probably never see it called.

I would go a step further and say that I wouldn't call it even if I saw the foot on the ground entirely out of the box (although I would not admit that to the coach). That is not the spirit and intent of the rule.

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