On an inside pitch, a very slow curve ball, batter does not make movement to get out of the way and intentionally lets ball hit them. He starts down the line to first and umpire calls him back. What is the rule and or ruling on this play?
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Hitters don't have to get out of the way. What they can't do is lean into pitches.
I'm not sure if RJM is joking or not. Anyway, in OBR and FED, the batter must attempt to avoid the pitch. OBR 6.08b {the batter is awarded first base if] He is touched by a pitched ball which he is not attempting to hit unless (1) The ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter, or (2) The batter makes no attempt to avoid being touched by the ball;
If the ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter, it shall be called a strike, whether or not the batter tries to avoid the ball. If the ball is outside the strike zone when it touches the batter, it shall be called a ball if he makes no attempt to avoid being touched.
NFHS 8.1.1d a pitched ball hits his person or clothing, provided he does not strike at the ball; or
1. If he makes no effort to avoid being hit (7-3-4), or if the umpire calls the pitched ball a strike, the hitting of the batter is disregarded except that the ball is dead. It is a strike or ball depending on location of the pitch.
NCAA is different if the pitch is within the vertical lines of the batters box.
8-2d (2) (2) If the batter makes no attempt to avoid being touched by the ball and the pitch is out of the strike zone, the pitch shall be called a ball. The ball is dead, no runners may advance and the batter is not awarded first base unless the pitch is ball four.
A.R.—If the batter freezes and is hit by a pitch that is clearly inside the vertical lines of the batter’s box, the ball is dead and the batter is awarded first base.
My son has been hit by a few curve balls without moving to get out of the way and all except 1 time he has been awarded first base. I ask him why he doesn't get out of the way and he tells me that he was waiting for it to break and it didn't. When he does wait for them to break he usually manages to turn on it and hit it very, very hard.
Hitters don't have to get out of the way. What they can't do is lean into pitches.
Not really accurate.
Most rule codes require the batter to make an "attempt" to avoid the pitch. That attempt is in the eye of the beholder. The beholder that counts is the umpire.
NFHS 8.1.1d a pitched ball hits his person or clothing, provided he does not strike at the ball; or
1. If he makes no effort to avoid being hit (7-3-4),
That must be an old book because the HS rule has been changed to 'if he permits the ball to touch him (7-3-4) ,...'
I do agree with the others that there is judgement involved.
I am one of those umpires who is known to be more liberal when awarding a HBP. The players I have kept at the plate for failure to avoid are the ones who move or dip into a pitch to draw the HBP.
We teach players to stay in there... especially on curve balls until the ball breaks, and if the ball does not break there is usually precious little time to avoid the pitch.....I have seen players jelly-legged by curves and downright frozen on fast balls....that even a flinch is enough for me to rule an attempt was made to avoid contact....
The vast majority of players do not want to be hit with the ball....As Umpires, we know who the ones are that need to stay....the dipping elbow, the full turned back into the strike zone...or the knee extended to catch a pitch....
Now that is me...........MST will be along soon and he will disagree with me......
My statement was based in what I've seen from high school and college rather than the rules. I've seen plenty of hitters just stand there and take it. I've never seen one told he couldn't take first. I've seen a couple of hitters got caught turning their elbow into the pitch and not be awarded first.
My statement was based in what I've seen from high school and college rather than the rules. I've seen plenty of hitters just stand there and take it. I've never seen one told he couldn't take first. I've seen a couple of hitters got caught turning their elbow into the pitch and not be awarded first.
My experience is similar to RJM. Batters in the box, who don't move at the HS or College level get first base if they are hit by the pitch.
3FG posted the applicable rules concerning HBP, but as you may know the rule book does not teach you to umpire, it just defines the rules.
For practical application we may have to turn to secondary manuals for direction.....these directions come from 3 sources.... An authoritative opinion (AO) or an official interpretation (OI) an OI is a clarification from one of the official rules interpreters at that level and an Approved Ruling (AR) that comes from the legislating body.
The NCAA rule....
8-2d (2) (2) If the batter makes no attempt to avoid being touched by the ball and the pitch is out of the strike zone, the pitch shall be called a ball. The ball is dead, no runners may advance and the batter is not awarded first base unless the pitch is ball four.
A.R.—If the batter freezes and is hit by a pitch that is clearly inside the vertical lines of the batter’s box, the ball is dead and the batter is awarded first base.
With this AR, I would assume that you would see very few NCAA batters denied HBP unless they intentionally got touched by rolling or dipping into the pitch.
The NFHS has an official interpretation from Kyle McNeely that says "generally speaking the batter will be awarded first unless he tries to get hit by the pitch...he may not permit the pitch to hit him but: Movement to avoid the pitch may or may not be such an indication...
McNeely, (in my view) is trying to say the same thing as NCAA........
Jimmy and Dash have much more extensive experience with NCAA and I would lean heavily to their opinion on this....
Of course the illogical next crazy step is - if you've already warned both teams that the pitcher will be ejected on the next hit batter, but then you have a situation where while you'd normally award first because of the hbp, but you really believe the batter could have got out of the way of that slow curve - do you now eject the pitcher or say it's just ball (and warn both teams not to "try" to be hit).
John,
I don't eject for pitchers for hitting "the next batter" after being warned, it isn't always that simple......its being ejected for "intentionally hitting or throwing at a batter".....and I've got to judge that...
and I've been there.......the two times in my career that I can recall where an ejection did not follow a warning were:
Some fans were hot calling for the EJ's, but the game participants knew the baseball situation.......sometimes you just got to umpire........
piaa_ump,
How is it that when I quote the NCAA AR, it's "quoting the applicable rules", but when you quote the AR, that's learning how to umpire? 
Seriously, I don't see how you get from that AR to the notion that the batter would have to dip into the pitch to be left in the box. Or are you just ignoring the part about "clearly inside the vertical lines of the batter's box"? We do see NCAA umpires not awarding first when the batter, for example, is hit in his arm if the pitch is not within the batter's box, and he just stands there and takes a slow pitch. Of course, as Jimmy03 has already said, the PU's judgement of whether the batter attempted to avoid is the only one that matters.
Regarding NFHS, out here in California we're made of sterner stuff. See this recent reply from the state interpreter.
I judge it in HS as; If the batter could have reasonably been expected to get out of the way.
So a fastball that's at the hip he probably would get hit even if he tried to get out of the way -- so give him first.
A curve ball that hits the front shoulder he could have gotten out of the way even if hes 'waiting for it to break" (what a crock -- that's not how they work) so hes probably staying.
But as always its HTBT.
piaa_ump,
How is it that when I quote the NCAA AR, it's "quoting the applicable rules", but when you quote the AR, that's learning how to umpire? Seriously, I don't see how you get from that AR to the notion that the batter would have to dip into the pitch to be left in the box. Or are you just ignoring the part about "clearly inside the vertical lines of the batter's box"? We do see NCAA umpires not awarding first when the batter, for example, is hit in his arm if the pitch is not within the batter's box, and he just stands there and takes a slow pitch. Of course, as Jimmy03 has already said, the PU's judgement of whether the batter attempted to avoid is the only one that matters.
Regarding NFHS, out here in California we're made of sterner stuff. See this recent reply from the state interpreter.
This is a discussion PIAA and I have had on many occasions. In reality, I don't keep that many batters at the plate than PIAA but we differ in our approach on the subject. My criteria is more in line with the CA interpreter than PIAA. I do agree with Stan that pitches can freeze a batter and that you have to umpire.
Who made the mistake? The batter standing in the box or the pitcher throwing the ball in the box? Why the rush to punish the batter for the pitcher's screw-up?
I will accept any movement at all that does not increase the batter's profile as sufficient for an attempt to avoid. Any.
