BATTER UP!
By: Merle Butler    

Understanding what can or cannot be done with the bat in the fast pitch game takes some study and interpretation of the rules. The batter can bunt, slap, and even hit the ball with the knob.

When discarding a bat, the bat cannot hit the ball, but the ball can hit the bat.

A batter can swing at a pitch one time legally, but if they hit the ball on the back swing, a foul ball should be ruled. When hitting the ball a second time, a foul ball should be ruled if the batter is in the batter’s box, but ruled out if the batter is out of the batter’s box when contact is made.

A batter is awarded first base if hit on the fingers, however if those same fingers are on the bat when hit and the batter swung at the pitch (and the pitched ball hits the fingers) it is a dead ball and a strike, even if the ball rolls to fair territory.

BUNT
A bunt is defined as a “legally tapped ball not swung at, but intentionally met with the bat and tapped slowly within the infield.” Is it a bunt and a strike if the batter puts the bat over the plate and doesn’t move the bat, as the pitch crosses the plate? NO! It’s not a strike if the batter doesn’t swing or move the bat towards the pitch, and the ball isn’t in the strike zone. If the ball is in the strike zone, it would be a called strike. Good mechanics to follow when a batter moves the bat toward a pitch is to point at the batter, verbally state, “You went for it,” and signal a strike. If the batter doesn’t move the bat and the ball is out of the strike zone, only a ball is called.

SLAP HIT
The intent of the slap hit is to punch or slap the ball over a charging defensive player. The majority of the time it is made from the left-handed batter’s box, with the batter running up on the pitch.

If the slap hit goes foul on a third strike, is the batter out? NO! However, if the infield fly situation is in effect and a slap hit can be caught with ordinary effort, it should be ruled an infield fly. If the slap hit turns into a line drive, no infield fly can be ruled.

Umpires must also determine whether the batter goes for the pitched ball or if he/she pulls the bat back when they run up on the pitch. If the bat is pulled back and the pitched ball is out of the strike zone, only a ball is called.

THROWING BAT AT A PITCH
Can a batter throw the bat at a pitched ball? YES, and whenever this occurs, a strike should be called if the ball is not contacted. If the ball is contacted, treat the hit as any other bunted ball, for it is “intentionally met with the bat and tapped slowly within the infield.”

If the bat doesn’t make contact with the ball, there’s another consideration - was the catcher making a play on a runner and did the discarded bat prevent him/her from making the play? If in the umpire’s judgment it did, then interference should be ruled. If contact is made with the discarded bat, there would be no interference.

INTENT
Remember, when the bat leaves a batter’s hand, intent is ruled. This is the very reason that when a discarded bat hits a batted ball a second time over fair territory an out is recorded for an “illegally batted ball.”

However, it isn’t considered intent if the bat is on the ground and a ball rolls against it. The umpire should either (a) rule foul immediately if the bat was over foul territory when the ball hit it, or (b) rule fair if the bat is over fair ground when the ball hits it and the ball remains in fair territory.

HITTING THE BALL A SECOND TIME
The determination of fair/foul or out/safe is based on the position of the batter’s feet at the time of second contact. The same is true of a batted ball hitting the ground and bouncing into the batter-runner. Did the ball hit the batter while in the batter’s box or out of the box? If only one foot was in the batter’s box and that was the foot hit, a foul ball is ruled, yet if the batter-runner has one foot over fair territory on his/her way to first base, and that is the foot or leg hit by the ball, he/she would be out.

If a batter-runner who bats in the right-handed batter’s box is hit with a fair ball over the left-handed batter’s box on his/her way to first base, he/she is still out. The batter-runner is protected only in the batter’s box they are batting in.

Hopefully these tips will help clarify these batting questions when they occur in your next game.

Merle Butler is the ISF’s Director of Umpires and a member of the ISF Hall of Fame.

(This article appeared in the Sep.-Dec. 2003 edition of World Softball
magazine, Volume 31, Number 3 )

Photo by f-11 photographic design

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