When is a bunt a swing?

If the plate umpire judged that he did not make an attempt to bunt the ball, then it is not a strike.  There is no requirement to draw the bat back.

Now, you may come across a poorly trained umpire that incorrectly calls a strike because the bat wasn't pulled back, but more knowledgeable ones will tell you exactly what you were told.

Merely holding the bat over the zone does not constitute a swing. To be a strike, the batter must make an offer at the pitch.....that would involve moving the bat towards the ball in an effort to hit the pitch....

Now, the judgment of whether or not a batter does so is solely the umpires decision....so in the OP, the Umpire was correct in his call and explanation...

Applicable rules....

Fed 7.2.1b In bunting, any movement of the bat toward the ball when the ball is over or near the plate is a strike. The mere holding of the bat in the  strike zone is not an attempt to bunt. 

NCAA/OBR- Official interp- A bat left in the strike zone is not, in itself, an offer at a pitch. However the intent of the batter should declare whether he offered at the pitch.

Thank you - can always rely on getting the best info here.  I do not have access to the Fed or NCAA rule book and the only thing in the MLB rule book I could find was in 2.0 where a strike is defined as "which is struck at by a batter and missed"   

Outstanding, good research....and if you connect that OBR definition to the OBR definition of a bunt you will get the basis of the Official Interpretation.

A bunt is a batted ball not swung at but intentionally met with the bat and tapped slowly within the infield.

A strike is a. "Struck at by the batter and is missed"

The common thread in the 2 is that the bat must be moved by the batter intentionally....

All these rule definitions and interpretations are undoubtedly correct. Nevertheless, when I was coaching "small field" baseball I always told the kids to pull the bat back once they made a decision to take instead of bunt........to avoid being at the mercy of the umpire's discretion.

The NCAA book is available on-line as a pdf download.

The question you ask is one of the top-40 myths.

As always, I appreciate this forum. I'm always amazed watching baseball and softball at all levels (kids to pro's) at how many interpretations there are of the swinging strike.

You can litterally get 10 different versions every night from color guys if you have the MLB package, he didn't break his wrist, the bat didn't cross the plate, he went far enough for me, etc.

IMHO it is a fundamental rule that is not well defined in the rule books. Maybe the casebooks are better, but I've never had access to those. So fundamental it seems worthy of a few more paragraphs in OBR. If they can dedicate a chapter to batting out of order, it seems like defining a swing should be worth more than "batter offers at pitch".

To answer my own post with a little softball sarcasim, in a 12U A softball game, you can receive as many as 2.7 opinions per attendee. If there are 30 people watching, there will be approximately 80 different interpretations.

In 18U Gold softball, you will hear a few people grumble if it has no effect on the game. If it could possibly result in ending the game and weekend, both teams will grumble about not being able to get a head start on traffic heading home, no matter which team benefits from the call.

The problem is in softball leaving the bat out there is a strike. In baseball not so much. 

Good point, the rules are different.

Question for our umpires here... since this was brought up, what DO you use as guideline for what constitutes a swing?

It may not be as clear as you would like, but I don't use guidelines. I judge whether he attempted to hit the ball or not. How far the bat traveled, where it is in proximity to the ball and when, everything goes into it.

Generally -- if the hips open up and the hands come away from the body, its a strike / swing.

NCAA adds a specific reference:

The

half swing shall be called a strike if the barrel head of the bat passes the batter’s

front hip.

A.R.—

This does not apply to a bunt attempt when the batter pulls the bat back

We judge whether he attempted to swing. That is not very definitive but each swing is an animal all it's own.

Thanks for the replies so far.  Part of why I ask is because the rule books do seem non-definitive and I am curious as to what additional info you folks get from casebooks (or whatever they are called) and clinical instruction. 

But, another reason I ask is... This past weekend, I helped coach a showcase team at a D1 college event.  I had a player (new to me- definite D1 prospect) who is very deliberate with his "hitting 'til I'm not" approach.  He doesn't just load on every pitch, he starts firing his hips and hands and then pulls back when/if he decides to take.  It was not an issue on this day but I wondered how often he may get rung due to his approach and wondered further on specific definition of an attempt.  His hips do open up and his hands do come away slightly on every pitch, so that definition is concerning.  I do like the "barrel head.. passes the batter's front hip" as a cue but that makes me wonder more about the typical two man crew at HS games and the various situational positions of the base ump.  Do they use different cues when asked on appeal?   

That's why I'm the way I am. That was the type of hitter I was. Noumpere's approach got me strikes when I was hitting, even if my bat barely moved.

As a base umpire, I have no problems getting a swinging strike no matter where I am. I may miss some when I'm in A and a lefty, simply because I can't see, but I can still get most of them.

I think it's easier to see a swing from the A than from inside, righty or lefty.  

You can get them from A or D no matter the handedness of the batter.

You can get them from the middle even if too many seem to be too afraid to do so.

And, if I take the couple of posters at there word that "the bat barely moved" or "the hands moved slightly" I wouldn't have those as strikes.