12U Tournament championship, 3 umpires, ASA this weekend. Batter is LH. I am coaching the batter, so I know she is trying to slap (swing away) for the entire at bat. Batter takes multiple run-ups on attempted slaps, two swing-and-miss strikes. No indication from home plate umpire that he thought she was bunting; i.e. no verbal such as "she offered". Batter is still learning, has a downward swing, and her top hand tends to fly off the handle.
Batter fouls off the next pitch, home plate umpire calls "foul ball". Opposing coach yells out "Can I get an appeal on whether she bunted foul 3rd strike?" The 3rd base umpire agreed with the opposing coach saying "I saw her hands separate." Strike 3.
Ugh. I don't think hands separating is good criteria for differentiating between a bunt and a strike. From my research on this site, it doesn't sound like ASA has a good definition of a bunt vs. a swing to make any sort of appeal, however. Would the forum agree? I've seen coaches teach bunting with hands together as a LHB to hide the bunt. By this umpire's definition, you could do that with 2 strikes, foul it off and continue batting.
Wouldn't it be better to judge whether the bat is moving to hit the ball (swing) or the ball is moving to hit the bat (bunt)?
Thank you for your feedback.
Batter fouls off the next pitch, home plate umpire calls "foul ball". Opposing coach yells out "Can I get an appeal on whether she bunted foul 3rd strike?" The 3rd base umpire agreed with the opposing coach saying "I saw her hands separate." Strike 3.
Ugh. I don't think hands separating is good criteria for differentiating between a bunt and a strike. From my research on this site, it doesn't sound like ASA has a good definition of a bunt vs. a swing to make any sort of appeal, however. Would the forum agree? I've seen coaches teach bunting with hands together as a LHB to hide the bunt. By this umpire's definition, you could do that with 2 strikes, foul it off and continue batting.
Wouldn't it be better to judge whether the bat is moving to hit the ball (swing) or the ball is moving to hit the bat (bunt)?
Thank you for your feedback.
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