Batter hit in the box

[Guest BigVic]

A batter is in the batter's box. a ball is approaching the batter that was pitched. instead of turning his back away from the ball him he turns towards the ball and swings his Bat, the ball strikes the batter. does he 1 get the base because he was hit by the ball, or 2 is it a strike because he swung the bat.
does it matter whether it was a defensive swing or an intentional swing

[scrounge]

I'm not sure what your distinction is between defensive vs intentional swing. The key is whether it was a legitimate attempt to strike or hit the ball.

If in the judgment of the umpire, the swing is an attempt to hit the ball, it's a dead ball and a strike in all circumstances. If strike three, the batter is out. If the umpire judges that it wasn't an attempt to hit the ball but rather evasive action or something, then the umpire could (and likely would) award the batter 1B. If however, the umpire felt that the batter permitted the ball to hit him (such as stepping into the pitch with the intention of getting hit), then the batter could be kept at the plate with a ball added to the count. Finally, if the pitch was in the strike zone, it would be a strike even if the batter didn't intend to be hit.

[Gfoley4]

43 minutes ago, scrounge said:

I'm not sure what your distinction is between defensive vs intentional swing. The key is whether it was a legitimate attempt to strike or hit the ball.

If in the judgment of the umpire, the swing is an attempt to hit the ball, it's a dead ball and a strike in all circumstances. If strike three, the batter is out. If the umpire judges that it wasn't an attempt to hit the ball but rather evasive action or something, then the umpire could (and likely would) award the batter 1B. If however, the umpire felt that the batter permitted the ball to hit him (such as stepping into the pitch with the intention of getting hit), then the batter could be kept at the plate with a ball added to the count. Finally, if the pitch was in the strike zone, it would be a strike even if the batter didn't intend to be hit.

I say we pin this answer, as well as another one about appeal/time plays!

[aaluck]

That situation is always umpire judgment.  Did the umpire believe he was offering at the pitch or flailing his arms in an attempt to get out of the way.  In youth ball this happens quite frequently and 99/100 times its not an attempt to strike the ball--its a kid trying to get the heck out of the way, in HS/College its usually a fooled batter swinging at a bad pitch.

The key is also "dead ball"--the rule if the ball ever hits the batter. I've had coaches try and argue that it's a "do over" if its the 3rd strike, or they, and all of the "parent umpires", scream run, run.  

Also, remember that if it hits the bat on the "swing" (before it hits the batter) its a foul ball. Usually this is very hard for the home umpire to see as the hitter's back is facing him so I will ALWAYS check with the field umpire to see if he saw it as a foul ball--while Im out there I also ask him if he saw it as a swing.

[beerguy55]

On 4/18/2018 at 6:18 AM, Guest BigVic said:

does it matter whether it was a defensive swing or an intentional swing

If by "defensive swing" you mean he was swinging at the ball as you would a mosquito to try to prevent the ball from hitting him, that's a strike.

[BretMan]

I'd love to see a kid knock one over the fence like this, then say, "Come back here! That wasn't a swing. It was a defensive swing!".