Swinging bunt on 3rd strike

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Mar 7, 2016
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This one was new to me and I still believe it was an error on the official. Girl goes down in the count 0-2, on 3rd pitch she goes into a bunt stance but pushes the bat forward almost like a like poking at an away pitch to lay down a bunt. Ball goes foul. I asked for clarification on why that wasnt an out. Her reply was that it was considered a swing and a judgement call. So what really defines a bunt?

same ump also believed and i quote "at 12U the strike zone should be chalk line to chalk line" when i asked for clarification on some outside pitches. Frustrating to say the least.
 
Jan 27, 2019
141
28
A bunt is legally batted ball not swung at but tapped with the bat.
As for a bunt attempt
NFHS holding the bat in the zone constitutes an attempt
USA the bat can be held still in the zone and it is not an attempt, the umpire has to determine if there was an actual attempt to tap the ball
It seems in your scenario above, without seeing the movement of the bat, that it MAY have been a bunt. Again, I am not willing to substitute my judgment for that of the umpire who was actually behind the plate.
 
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
Well, it didn’t sound like a swing ... ;)

The description sounds like a bunt.

And I think that USA Softball rule is one of the dumbest ever written. If you weren’t attempting to bunt, why was the bat hanging out in the strike zone?

And everybody knows that chalk line to chalk line in 12u is BS. It is the law in 10u though. :unsure: Pretty sure it’s in the book.
 

MTR

Jun 22, 2008
3,438
48
And I think that USA Softball rule is one of the dumbest ever written. If you weren’t attempting to bunt, why was the bat hanging out in the strike zone?

Because the rule for a strike to be called that did not enter the strike zone, the batter must make a attempt to "strike" the ball. It was the rule in all organizations until just a few years ago.
 
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
If you weren’t attempting to “strike the ball” why did you take your bat off your shoulder and put it out there?

I was not aware that any other organization had that and had never heard it until I encountered USA Softball (then ASA). Sounds as if it is a modern literal misinterpretation of a rule that people understood when it was written, but the language is now outdated..
 

MTR

Jun 22, 2008
3,438
48
If you weren’t attempting to “strike the ball” why did you take your bat off your shoulder and put it out there?

When was the last time you saw a batter waiting on a pitch with the bat on their shoulder?
I was not aware that any other organization had that and had never heard it until I encountered USA Softball (then ASA). Sounds as if it is a modern literal misinterpretation of a rule that people understood when it was written, but the language is now outdated..

Only is the past few years did any organization change that to a strike. I still disagree with it since the definition of a strike includes an attempt to hit the ball which means those organizations had to change a second rule to accommodate the first. This rule also dictates that an unhitable pitch must be called a strike if the batter holds out the bat and that in itself is absurd
 

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