Ball bounces in front of home plate and batter swings and misses.

[Guest Coach Darryle]

Pitcher pitches a ball that bounces clearly IN FRONT of home plate.  I know that Ichiro did this.  If the batter hits it into play it is a fair ball.  What if he swings and misses?  By definition, that ball cannot be called a strike. Thanks!

[Replacematt]

15 minutes ago, Guest Coach Darryle said:

Pitcher pitches a ball that bounces clearly IN FRONT of home plate.  I know that Ichiro did this.  If the batter hits it into play it is a fair ball.  What if he swings and misses?  By definition, that ball cannot be called a strike. Thanks!

It is a strike--it cannot be a called strike, but a strike is also a pitch that is struck at by the batter and missed.

[Aging_Arbiter]

just to clarify Coach Darryle, as it DOES appear you are looking up the rules.  In the book, when they refer to a "called strike", that is a ball in flight that was NOT swung at, that passed through the strike zone.  The umpire CALLED it a STRIKE.

 

Again, Kudos for looking it up!  I only WISH more coaches took your initiative.

[ArchAngel72]

What was the count?

 

Just kidding,  Its a strike he swung and offered at it and missed it.  

[Mussgrass]

On 3/13/2020 at 4:31 PM, ArchAngel72 said:

What was the count?

 

Just kidding,  Its a strike he swung and offered at it and missed it.  

I know you said JK but the count could matter. If there were 2 strikes when this happened it would be an uncaught 3rd strike D3K.

[Thunderheads]

30 minutes ago, Mussgrass said:

I know you said JK but the count could matter. If there were 2 strikes when this happened it would be an uncaught 3rd strike D3K.

yes, but the act described in the OP is indeed a strike, regardless of the count and/or scenario  

[maven]

On 3/12/2020 at 11:11 PM, Guest Coach Darryle said:

Pitcher pitches a ball that bounces clearly IN FRONT of home plate.  I know that Ichiro did this.  If the batter hits it into play it is a fair ball.  What if he swings and misses?  By definition, that ball cannot be called a strike. Thanks!

The only thing a bounced pitch canNOT be is a called strike. All other rules are in effect.

[Biscuit]

22 minutes ago, maven said:

The only thing a bounced pitch canNOT be is a called strike. All other rules are in effect.

Or a caught third strike. 

[Replacematt]

4 hours ago, Biscuit said:

Or a caught third strike. 

Except it can be, if it's tipped.

[Biscuit]

4 hours ago, Matt said:

Except it can be, if it's tipped

Ah, very true.

[Rich Ives]

10 hours ago, Matt said:

Except it can be, if it's tipped.

Because once it's tipped it is no longer a pitch - it's a batted ball.

[Replacematt]

8 minutes ago, Rich Ives said:

Because once it's tipped it is no longer a pitch - it's a batted ball.

But it's still a caught third strike. If it had been on strike one or two, it would be a caught strike as well, no? Runners don't need to tag up, they can still advance, ball is in play, etc...

[maven]

7 hours ago, Rich Ives said:

Because once it's tipped it is no longer a pitch - it's a batted ball.

Irrelevant. The issue is whether it's the same as it would have been had it not bounced. And the answer is: yes.

[Rich Ives]

2 hours ago, maven said:

Irrelevant. The issue is whether it's the same as it would have been had it not bounced. And the answer is: yes.

A bounced pitch cannot be CAUGHT for an out. A batted ball can.

 

[Vegas_Ump]

The definition says that a ball that bounces in front of the plate cannot be a called strike.  But it is a pitch nonetheless!  If it hits the batter, it comes under a hit batsman rule.  If the batter offers at it, it is what it is:  swung and missed = a strike; goes into fair territory, it's in play; goes foul, it's a foul.  When I was a kid, I saw Yogi Berra hit a ball that bounced in front of the plate into the right field stands at Griffith Stadium for a home run!  [I know!  Hit the geeze alarm!]

But here's a subtle definition point!  If a ball bounces in front of the plate, and it is swung on and missed for strike three, it is considered an UNCAUGHT third strike, and you may play on based on U3K rules.  This is even if the catcher nabs it cleanly!  It's a U3K!  This is found in the Definition of a Catch paragraph.

Mike

Under Quarantine in Las Vegas

[Replacematt]

4 hours ago, Rich Ives said:

A bounced pitch cannot be CAUGHT for an out. A batted ball can.

 

If a bounced pitch is a foul tip, is it considered a strikeout?

[Mussgrass]

19 hours ago, Vegas_Ump said:

But here's a subtle definition point!  If a ball bounces in front of the plate, and it is swung on and missed for strike three, it is considered an UNCAUGHT third strike, and you may play on based on U3K rules.  This is even if the catcher nabs it cleanly!  It's a U3K!  This is found in the Definition of a Catch paragraph.

Mike

Under Quarantine in Las Vegas

Thank you! This is the point I was trying to make.

[Mussgrass]

16 hours ago, Matt said:

If a bounced pitch is a foul tip, is it considered a strikeout?

Yes!