Illegal contact?

[stl_ump]

OBR

This "almost" happened last year and I'll probably get these guys again...

Batter is as far as he can get in the front of the box but still in it. (Foot is not on the line however)

Just about every pitch he swung at and eventually contacted resulted in his foot being out of the box when it came down.

As far as I could tell he contacted the ball while his foot was in the air and then as he followed thru his foot landed outside the box.

It was difficult to tell if he actually contacted the ball when his front foot was on the ground outside the box or the contact was made while his foot was in the air. I was still trying to focus on the zone.

Maybe I should just ignore this as it was difficult to tell when contact occured and ended and when his foot was outside the box.

Anyway... your thoughts?

[BrianC14]

OBR

This "almost" happened last year and I'll probably get these guys again...

Batter is as far as he can get in the front of the box but still in it. (Foot is not on the line however)

Just about every pitch he swung at and eventually contacted resulted in his foot being out of the box when it came down.

As far as I could tell he contacted the ball while his foot was in the air and then as he followed thru his foot landed outside the box.

It was difficult to tell if he actually contacted the ball when his front foot was on the ground outside the box or the contact was made while his foot was in the air. I was still trying to focus on the zone.

Maybe I should just ignore this as it was difficult to tell when contact occured and ended and when his foot was outside the box.

Anyway... your thoughts?

I don't understand the problem here...

I'll cite FED rules:

7-3: A batter shall not:

7-3-2: hit the ball fair or foul while either foot or knee is touching the ground completely outside the lines of the batter's box our touching home plate.

PENALTY: For infrations of Articles 2 and 3, the ball becomes dead immediately and the batter is out.

[UmpTTS43]

OBR

This "almost" happened last year and I'll probably get these guys again...

Batter is as far as he can get in the front of the box but still in it. (Foot is not on the line however)

Just about every pitch he swung at and eventually contacted resulted in his foot being out of the box when it came down.

As far as I could tell he contacted the ball while his foot was in the air and then as he followed thru his foot landed outside the box.

It was difficult to tell if he actually contacted the ball when his front foot was on the ground outside the box or the contact was made while his foot was in the air. I was still trying to focus on the zone.

Maybe I should just ignore this as it was difficult to tell when contact occured and ended and when his foot was outside the box.

Anyway... your thoughts?

I agree that that is a tough call to get, but once you notice a batter's tendency to push the limit, you can key on it a little more.

As far as the legality of the issue, in order for the batter to be out for an illegally batted ball, he has to hit the ball while he has one foot, on the ground, entirely out of the batter's box. In other words, if he hits it while his foot is in the air at contact then subsequently lands outside of the box, he is legal. If his foot is on the ground, and any part of his foot is touching the lines of the batter's box, he is legal. If the batter illegally contacts the ball, he is out regardless if the ball is fair or foul.

This is the OBR interpretation.

[BrianC14]

I agree that that is a tough call to get, but once you notice a batter's tendency to push the limit, you can key on it a little more.

As far as the legality of the issue, in order for the batter to be out for an illegally batted ball, he has to hit the ball while he has one foot, on the ground, entirely out of the batter's box. In other words, if he hits it while his foot is in the air at contact then subsequently lands outside of the box, he is legal. If his foot is on the ground, and any part of his foot is touching the lines of the batter's box, he is legal. If the batter illegally contacts the ball, he is out regardless if the ball is fair or foul.

This is the OBR interpretation.

You'll see that happen fairly often when a batter tries a drag bunt - it is tough to see, no doubt (the call is the easy part ) .

[stl_ump]

I agree that that is a tough call to get, but once you notice a batter's tendency to push the limit, you can key on it a little more.

As far as the legality of the issue, in order for the batter to be out for an illegally batted ball, he has to hit the ball while he has one foot, on the ground, entirely out of the batter's box. In other words, if he hits it while his foot is in the air at contact then subsequently lands outside of the box, he is legal. If his foot is on the ground, and any part of his foot is touching the lines of the batter's box, he is legal. If the batter illegally contacts the ball, he is out regardless if the ball is fair or foul.

This is the OBR interpretation.

And that's what I wanted to be sure of.. in the air O.K. On the ground.. "yer out!"

[alex7]

I just have a hard time imaging a swing where a batter makes contact while front foot is in the air. So awkwardly out of balance.

[Dragon29]

stl_ump,

Unless you either see the batter's foot on the ground outside of the box before the pitch (or perhaps, just as the pitch is thrown) -OR- clearly see it down outside of the box (as BrianC14 indicates, this will most likely or often occur on a drag-bunt) when he contacts the ball, leave it alone. Focus on the strike zone during the pitch, not the batter's foot. (i.e. don't look for trouble) For me, it has to be really obvious for me to make that call.

If you see it in an illegal position before the pitch, call 'Time' and tell him to move his foot back into the box. If you have a habitual offender - you know what to do (OK - it would take a lot for me to eject a player over this; I'm just sayin')

[Kevin Finnerty]

stl_ump,

Unless you either see the batter's foot on the ground outside of the box before the pitch (or perhaps, just as the pitch is thrown) -OR- clearly see it down outside of the box (as BrianC14 indicates, this will most likely or often occur on a drag-bunt) when he contacts the ball, leave it alone. Focus on the strike zone during the pitch, not the batter's foot. (i.e. don't look for trouble) For me, it has to be really obvious for me to make that call.

Let me just say this:

Follow this advice!

[mstaylor]

Where I see this happen a lot is on a bunt ad the batter steps on the plate. It is an obvious call because he is going to step right into your line of sight. The other is where the batter puts his foot against the front line, then strides. This is rarely called because the lines aren't there long.