Bunted ball hits bat in fair territory, stays fair

[jbucks]

Player bunts, bat falls in front of the plate, ball rolls forward and hits said bat and dies in fair territory. This is nothing, correct? Ball in play.

[Thunderheads]

Player bunts, bat falls in front of the plate, ball rolls forward and hits said bat and dies in fair territory. This is nothing, correct? Ball in play.

yes ....

[noumpere]

 

Player bunts, bat falls in front of the plate, ball rolls forward and hits said bat and dies in fair territory. This is nothing, correct? Ball in play.

yes ....

 

To expound:  It's nothing when the ball hits the bat.  It becomes fair when the ball comes to rest (if the ball had rolled to foul territory, it would be a foul ball).

 

Now, if the ball had hit the bat in foul territory, it becomes foul at that point.

[UmpJeff]

An MLB umpire told us at our winter camp to look at this scenario one of two ways...

 

1) if the ball hits a stationary bat, you have nothing, play on...and,

 

2) if the bat hits the ball, you have something...an out, in most cases.

[Senor Azul]

The answer to your question actually is in the rule book--no need for an interpretation on this one. The relevant portion of OBR 6.05h states:

 

If the batter-runner drops his bat and the ball rolls against the bat in fair territory and, in the umpire's judgment, there was no intention to interfere with the course of the ball, the ball is alive and in play...

 

All the major codes agree on this.

[victorinva]

Exactly....if intentional out out out.......