Lefty batter knocks baseball down with right hand, should he be allowed to take 1st base?
Anonymous asked: The score is 8 to 7 and bases are loaded with 2 outs.
A lefty batter is behind in the count and uses his right hand to swat at and knock down the baseball.
Should batter be awarded 1st base and allow tying run to score?
Rick answered: Thank you for your question.
The rule which covers this situation is Rule 7 Sec 3 Batting Infractions - A batter shall not: Art 4...Permit a pitched ball to touch him.
Penalty: The batter remains at bat (pitch is a ball or a strike) unless pitch was a third strike or ball four.
Since the batter was behind in the count, I assume he had two strikes.
It would be left to the judgement of the umpire whether the pitch would have been a strike or ball.
If he decided strike, batter would be out as it would be strike 3. If he felt it was a ball; but that the hitter could and should have gotten out of the way, he could call a ball and leave the batter at the plate.
If it was an obvious act by the batter, most umpires would call either of the above, rather than send the batter to first base allowing the tying run to score.
If that had happened, I imagine things got pretty exciting in a hurry.
How did that play out in real time?
Yours in baseball,
Rick
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