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 Batter hit by pitch?
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BaseballMom6

233 Posts

Posted - 02/28/2016 :  19:58:12  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Is a batter required to attempt to avoid the pitch, or can he just stand there and let it hit him and take his base? GHSA rules please.

brball

615 Posts

Posted - 02/28/2016 :  21:05:39  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Not in the know, but I'm pretty sure the batter has to make an attempt
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BaseballMom6

233 Posts

Posted - 02/29/2016 :  11:25:35  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
watched kids just stand there, no movement at all and take the hit awarded 1st. I thought they had to make an attempt to avoid. I know I read NCAA is cracking down and enforcing that the player must make an attempt to avoid or the call will be ball/strike depending on location and no base awarded. They are tired of batters leaning into pitches. I was unsure if High School rule is same.
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CaCO3Girl

1989 Posts

Posted - 02/29/2016 :  14:22:39  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
This was found under NFHS rules that had been changed/clarified in 2009:

Infractions by a batter were also addressed. The committee is concerned that batters are still
attempting to be hit by pitches and earn an undeserved awarded base by "taking one for the
team." Rule 7-3-4 clearly prohibits a batter allowing himself to be hit by a pitch.
In such a situation, the pitched ball is deemed either a strike or a ball and the player who
permitted the ball to touch him remains at bat unless the pitch results in a third strike or ball
four. The phrase "or ball four" was added to the rule to clarify the pitch needed to be called a
strike or ball.
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Brad344

6 Posts

Posted - 02/29/2016 :  19:53:14  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
If a batter flinched that could be a attempt to get out of the way. Also a batter must wait for a curveball to break, sometimes they don't and then it appears he just stood there and let it hit him. People that usually don't know the game or rec ball parents usually are the ones trying to enforce this rule!
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BaseballMom6

233 Posts

Posted - 02/29/2016 :  22:14:26  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Thanks, Brad344, I do know the game and I know what a curve ball looks like. When a kid gets hit in the back because he didn't bother to lean away from the ball, but rather just planted his feet and waited for the contact. He shouldn't get the base. It would be nice if the umpires knew and enforced it.
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Brad344

6 Posts

Posted - 03/01/2016 :  05:01:30  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
It's very hard to enforce that rule, what age are we talking here?
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Brad344

6 Posts

Posted - 03/01/2016 :  05:08:22  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
You will almost never get that call unless the batter intentionally leans into the pitch.
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CaCO3Girl

1989 Posts

Posted - 03/01/2016 :  08:26:24  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by BaseballMom6

Thanks, Brad344, I do know the game and I know what a curve ball looks like. When a kid gets hit in the back because he didn't bother to lean away from the ball, but rather just planted his feet and waited for the contact. He shouldn't get the base. It would be nice if the umpires knew and enforced it.


Ah, but see, getting hit in the back would mean he turned, and that would be interpreted as attempting to avoid the pitch. The rule was made for the kids leaning in and over the plate in attempt to get hit. The rule was not meant to make kids jump out of the batters box if the ball is coming at you. If every kid was required to do that then the curve ball would win every game.

Notice the key phrase "batters are still attempting to be hit by pitches and earn an undeserved awarded base by "taking one for the team."...the simple truth is, if the pitcher lost control of the ball and it enters into the batters space then that isn't an "undeserved awarded base", and the batter isn't attempting to get hit. The awarded base is the penalty for the pitcher not doing what they were suppose to do.
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BaseballMom6

233 Posts

Posted - 03/01/2016 :  13:31:22  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
A batter doesn't have to move to be hit in the back(shoulders), This is high school, and sometimes the pitch doesn't go anywhere near its intended target and I've watched it go behind the batter, it's not pretty, but it happens. More often the batter is hit in the leg or side while standing motionless because they see it coming. And the law says "allowing himself to be hit by a pitch," not jumping in front of the ball. So they are directly addressing batters not attempting to move away from the ball as much as those leaning into the pitch. I would just like to see the umpires enforce it more often.
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CaCO3Girl

1989 Posts

Posted - 03/01/2016 :  15:32:31  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by BaseballMom6

A batter doesn't have to move to be hit in the back(shoulders), This is high school, and sometimes the pitch doesn't go anywhere near its intended target and I've watched it go behind the batter, it's not pretty, but it happens. More often the batter is hit in the leg or side while standing motionless because they see it coming. And the law says "allowing himself to be hit by a pitch," not jumping in front of the ball. So they are directly addressing batters not attempting to move away from the ball as much as those leaning into the pitch. I would just like to see the umpires enforce it more often.


Thank you for the explanation, it's clear this isn't a 9u rec ball question. HOWEVER, I still have to say you are misinterpreting the rule. The rule is there so that the batter can't intentionally lean over the plate, get hit, and take his unearned base. The rule covers when a batter actively attempts to get hit through his own actions.

The rule does NOT mean to cover an out of control pitcher that is hitting batters in the legs or in the hip because he missed with his pitch. If a batter gets hit in that circumstance he deserves his base. The batter is in his stance ready for the pitch...he's doing his job. The pitcher needs to throw the ball somewhere near the plate and not hit the batter, that's HIS job.

My son pitches and he knows if it's going AT the batter and didn't break, then he didn't do his job and the kid deserves his base.
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Brad344

6 Posts

Posted - 03/02/2016 :  16:54:55  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Well said!
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DecaturDad

619 Posts

Posted - 03/07/2016 :  22:30:09  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I am not sure what the actual rule says. But my son gets hit a lot. Most pitchers tend to try and go inside on him. Sometimes they miss their mark or the curve does not break and hit him. In fact, he was hit twice in a high school game on Saturday. I doubt he tried to move. Both times he was awarded a base. And no, he does not crowd the plate or lean in. These pitches are a good foot off the plate.
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HeyBlue

92 Posts

Posted - 03/14/2016 :  10:26:52  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
If I see a batter get hit and moved into the ball and in my opinion it was intentional, I will rule on the pitch, dead ball ball or dead ball strike and not give him a base. If the ball is over the plate, it's a dead ball one way or the other if he gets hit, but he is again not going to get first on this one.
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