if a pitch hits your hands while holding the bat is it a walk or a strike

Hit by pitch

Anonymous asked: If a pitch hits your hands while holding the bat, is it a walk or a strike?

Rick answered: When a pitched ball hits any part of the batter's body, the call is a dead ball.

If the batter swings at the pitch, it is a dead ball and a strike, the at bat continues.

If he doesn't swing, it would be a dead ball, batter goes to first base.

Yours in baseball,

Rick

Comments for if a pitch hits your hands while holding the bat is it a walk or a strike

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Sep 30, 2019
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RE: Hitter NEW
by: Anonymous

RE: Hitter
by: Anonymous

If a pitched ball hits the bat, not the batter, with 2 strikes and is c[a]ught by the catcher is [t]he batter(CFT) out even though the bat was stationary and didn't attempt a swing.

Any pitched ball that strikes the bat before contacting the catcher is ruled according to the result (foul ball, foul tip, fair ball in play); whether the batter attempted to hit the ball is irrelevant. The most commonly scene example of this at the youth level is when a batter ducks to avoid a head-high pitch and the ball hits the end of the bat above the batter's head or back.

Sep 30, 2019
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RE: HBP or not NEW
by: Anonymous

RE:

HBP or not
by: Anonymous

So in my son's 15u game tonight one of the opposing teams batters took his hand off the bat and reached in and got hit on the palm of his hand. Should he have [gotten] first base like they gave him?

If the batter makes no attempt to avoid being hit (which includes actually attempting to get hit), the ball is dead and the pitch is called according to its location -- ball if outside the strike zone, strike if within the strike zone. However, umpires are very reluctant to make that call, in my experience, and they give the benefit of the doubt to the batter; especially at younger ages, batters sometimes attempt to protect themselves from a pitch that is heading for them by sticking out a hand, and it's not unfair to award a base in that situation.

Sep 16, 2019
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Hitter
by: Anonymous

If a pitched ball hits the bat, not the batter, awith 2 strikes and is csught by the catcher is ghe batter(CFT) out even though the bat was sstationary and didn't attempt a swing.

Jun 11, 2019
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HBP or not
by: Anonymous

So in my son's 15u game tonight one of the opposing teams batters took his hand off the bat and reached in and got hit on the palm of his hand. Should he have Gooden first base like they gave him?

May 30, 2018
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Nothing's simultaneous in baseball... NEW
by: Coach Dan

> "Had a game the other night where the pitch hit the kids hands and bottom of bat at basically the same time. Could hear the contact with the aluminum but the kid was also hit, shaking his hands, went down in a pile. Not faking it. Is it the umps judgement to determine what was hit first?"

Not to be snide, but EVERYTHING is the umpire's judgment--whether the ball beats the runner on a force play, whether a held ball is a foul tip, etc. This play is no different; the ump makes all the decisions regarding play, and there is no concept of simultaneity when it comes to any calls involving what happened first.

--Coach Dan

May 30, 2018
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Ruling NEW
by: Bill Grundman

Had a game the other night where the pitch hit the kids hands and bottom of bat at basically the same time. Could hear the contact with the aluminum but the kid was also hit, shaking his hands, went down in a pile. Not faking it. Is it the umps judgement to determine what was hit first?

May 30, 2018
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An addendum (that's my comment below) NEW
by: Coach Dan

...if, in the umpire's judgment, the batter made no effort to avoid being hit, the ball is dead, and the umpire calls the pitch as a ball or a strike without regard to the fact that it hit the batter. This rule discourages players from intentionally getting hit.

May 30, 2018
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Ball hits hands, then bat NEW
by: Anonymous

> "My son was starting his at bat. The pitcher threw the ball hit his hands then the bat. Ump called a strike is this correct"

In most cases, no. This is a hit-by-pitch, the ball is dead AS SOON AS IT HITS THE BATTER, and the batter is awarded first base; forced runners advance as necessary. It is irrelevant that the ball hit the bat after it hit the batter, because the ball is already dead at that point.

Unless:

1) The batter swung at the pitch

or

2) The umpire adjudged that the pitch was in the strike zone

In both of those cases, the ball is dead, and the pitch is a strike.

--Coach Dan

May 30, 2018
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Hands hit NEW
by: Anonymous

My son was starting his at bat. The pitcher threw the ball hit his hands then the bat. Ump called a strike is this correct

Apr 16, 2018
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Further clarification
by: Coach Dan

"Is this a dead-ball strike if the ball is hit off of the hands into fair territory?"

As noted, the ball is immediately dead as soon as it contacts the batter. If the umpire rules that the batter swung (or that the pitch was in the strike zone, even if the batter did not swing), it's a strike, so the net result is a strike and a dead ball.

Apr 16, 2018
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Doesn't matter where the ball goes...
by: Coach Dan

"Is this a dead-ball strike if the ball is hit off of the hands into fair territory?"

As soon as the ball contacts the batter it is dead. Nothing after that matters.

Apr 12, 2018
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Batter hits ball off hands into fair territory.
by: Anonymous

Is this a dead-ball strike if the ball is hit off of the hands into fair territory?

Mar 08, 2018
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Just a simple substitution
by: Coach Dan

Per rule 5.10(a), another player from the bench can be substituted. This is not uncommon and is straightforward.

Mar 08, 2018
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Batter can not continue
by: Anonymous

Batter is hit on the hand while swinging. Dead ball strike is called. Batter is unable to continue the at bat. What is the ruling here?

May 25, 2014
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It's a simple call
by: Coach Dan

I've seen umpires make this call correctly. It's a simple call; with two strikes, if the batter swings and ball hits him, it's a strikeout.

When a batter swings at a pitch and does not hit it with the bat, it's a strike -- that's straightforward. And, of course, when a live ball touches the batter, the ball is dead. So, he swings and misses with the bat on a 2-strike count, he's out. The ball touches him, it's immediately dead. Simple.

May 25, 2014
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correct me if I'm wrong
by: Anonymous

so a batter has 2 strikes, he swings at next pitch and ball hits squarely on the hands making no contact with the bat. The ball roles into fair territory. So it a dead ball ,but would it be strike 3 or a foul ball , if you say it's a foul then it's like saying hand is a part of the bat, but then it would be a live fair ball, So I guess it's strike 3. Good luck to an umpire making that call

May 25, 2014
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Jul 14, 2013
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Doesn't matter...
by: Coach Dan

As soon as the ball hits the batter (anywhere), it is immediately dead. It doesn't matter if it subsequently hits the bat. In the scenario you described, the batter is awarded first base unless the pitch was in the strike zone, in which case it is a strike.

Jul 14, 2013
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follow up
by: Anonymous

what if the ball hits the batters hand first, then the bat, in the strike zone while the batter was attempting to pull back after starting to swing?

Jun 12, 2013
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Another exception...
by: Coachh Dan

If the batter makes no effort to avoid being hit by the pitch, the pitch is called as a strike or ball and the at-bat continues accordingly. By rule, the batter is not entitled to first base if s/he makes no effort to avoid being hit, though this is rarely enforced (it did happen in the NCAA super-regionals a couple of days ago though).

Jun 12, 2013
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Tough call for an umpire
by: Rick, theoleballgame

If the ball hit the knob of the bat before hitting batter's hands, it would be a foul ball strike.

In real time, it has to be fairly tough to call, especially if the batter has his pinkie wrapped around the edge of the knob.

Once called, it would stand, unless home plate umpire was willing to ask for help freom the base umpire, in which case he could possibly change his call.

Coaches can request he ask; but he does not have to do so.

Yours in baseball,

Rick

Jun 05, 2013
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bat then hand??
by: Tim K

what if the ump rules it hit the knob of the bat before stiking the batters hand?? He called a foul...

Sep 15, 2011
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Good Addition
by: Rick

Coach Dan: Good addition to this question and answer!

Yours in baseball,

Rick

Sep 15, 2011
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A clarification
by: Coach Dan

If the batter does not swing in the scenario described here he is awarded first UNLESS the pitch is a called strike, in which case it is a strike (and a dead ball).

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