What is proper HBP protocol?

[halskinner]

I was extremely accurate when I pitched. It was a very rare occassion when I hit a batter. I threw hard enough that if I did hit one, they could get SERIOUSLY hurt.

If I did hit one, I always trued to apologize AFTER the game. The look on my face when it happened and my body language said I was not happy it happened. But I did not let it affect my game. Many times that batter would have nothing to do with my apology, oh well, I tried.

NOBODY ever tried a suicide bunt on me. If someone did, my catcher and I knew I was coming in high and tight. One guy did try a suicide bunt on me in early 1979 season. I tried to come in high and tight. The landing spot in the circle was really chewed up. The ball went too high and way inside. He only had time to turn his head to the side, it hit him at the top ofthe ear/

He dropped ;ike a rock and immediately went into a seizure. I thought I had killed him. The ambulance arrived about 5 minutes later/

He came to the next day and spent 2 more days in the hospital. How do you apologize for an HBP like that?

I apologized a month or so later when I saw him again.

If a batter is hit hard enough or seriously enough that they have to be taken out of the game, apologize immediately. If it is less serious apologize after the game. That way they know you dont want to hurt anyone but if a batter does get hit, it is NOT going to affect the rest of your game.

 

[lhowser]

I've always told my dd that thousands of girls get hit every year. Hundreds of thousands over the past few years. No big deal. Stings for a little while. It's a part of playing and as girls get older they shake it off, run down to first and are glad for the free base so don't worry about it AND that is what I expect her to do if she gets hit. The Ohhhhh they hear from the crowd has nothing to do with it...they are not playing. If it seemed serious I would get timeout (as coach) and we would check on the batter status together.

 

[lhowser]

I think I saw in Japan that the first baseman bows and apologizes when the batter gets there.

That is pretty cool. I like that.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

A funny thing happened at our last tournament:

DD's team is ahead 19-0; the only batter in the lineup to get a hit against her is at bat; batter gets hit in the ribs; opposing coach runs out yelling at Blue "That's awefully suspicious Blue!!"; batter takes her base and game goes on.

It's funny that the coach thought his batter was hit on purpose - she was not.

It was a team inside joke for the rest of the tournament, every time something out of the ordinary they girls would look at each other and say "That's awefully suspicious".

 

[CoogansBluff]

I find some responses to be mildly surprising. Yes, it's part of the game, and 98 percent of the time, hitting a batter is no different than a walk. No guilt. No apology. Yeah, it hurts a little. That's softball. Next batter.

However, I would not train a player to have no feeling at all. This isn't mortal combat. If a girl is truly injured and in significant pain for an extended period, I would expect my players to have concern or sympathy. Teaching girls that "She should've got out of the way faster'' and ''There's no crying in softball" encourages them to think their only purpose in life is to kick rear and not care about other people, IMO. There's a balance to be had.

 

[nanotech14]

I find the responses to be mildly surprising. Yes, it's part of the game, and 98 percent of the time, hitting a batter is no different than a walk. No guilt. No apology. Yeah, it hurts a little. That's softball. Next batter.

However, I would not train a player to have no feeling at all. This isn't mortal combat. If a girl is truly injured and in significant pain for an extended period, I would expect my players to have concern or sympathy. Comments like "She should've got out of the way faster'' and ''There's no crying in softball" teach girls to think their only purpose in life is to kick rear and not care about other people, IMO. There's a balance to be had here.

Well,my dd is a caring person,but it is part of the game and you dont have to feel bad about it IMO,as far as their only purpose in life is to kick but and not care,welcome to the new world we live in,not that I agree with it,but look at are own government,(both sides of the floor).You dont know if a girl is really hurt or if she might be a drama queen.Still it is up to the pitcher not me for them to give a apology if they dont,thats their right.

 

[starsnuffer]

Take a knee, stare through the catcher, and focus on the next pitch. It's part of the game.

If she was HS age, I'd tell you to have her stare at the on deck batter instead to rattle her, but I don't think that's appropriate for a 12 year old. What you need to focus on now is that she should not be sorry. That pitch happened, its in the past, it has no bearing on anything anymore, there is nothing to be done about it. The next pitch is where her mind should be, she has to win that pitch.

-W

 

[marriard]

I find some responses to be mildly surprising. Yes, it's part of the game, and 98 percent of the time, hitting a batter is no different than a walk. No guilt. No apology. Yeah, it hurts a little. That's softball. Next batter.

However, I would not train a player to have no feeling at all. This isn't mortal combat. If a girl is truly injured and in significant pain for an extended period, I would expect my players to have concern or sympathy. Teaching girls that "She should've got out of the way faster'' and ''There's no crying in softball" encourages them to think their only purpose in life is to kick rear and not care about other people, IMO. There's a balance to be had.

It is not a matter of 'no feeling' - it is the type of feeling and attitude you need to have so you can continue to pitch.

The main feeling I know my DD has is that she is mad she didn't execute on her pitch when she expected herself to. When you hit someone you have to have a feeling of 'shared blame' - "yes I threw a bad pitch, but they should have been able to react to that and protect themselves better".

The batter's injury has to be secondary in the pitcher's mind after they get hit because if the pitcher is worried about hurting someone they will hit someone else pretty soon afterwards. Or they will completely collapse mentally and their pitching goes down fast. And then the loss of confidence cycle starts - and for some players this can last days, weeks or even months.

I have seen players give up pitching because they just don't have the mentality to handle it. You have to have a certain mindset to be successful as a pitcher. There is no way you can successfully pitch as hard as you can at someone if you are thinking about the possibility of hurting them.

 

[starsnuffer]

Every batter is not going to hit a home run at every at bat, and every pitcher is not going to hit the strike zone with each pitch.

For many batters, the difference between throwing a high inside fastball/rise/screw/backdoor and hitting the batter is a smaller difference or "miss" then accidentally pitching a meatball down the middle with the same pitches. Stuff happens. The coach, and the pitcher will take the walk to first rather then a multi-base hit any day. That said, see my responses to my two walk per inning limit for how to handle a pitcher who does not have control on a given day.

-W

 

[CoogansBluff]

... it is part of the game and you dont have to feel bad about it IMO ...

It is not a matter of 'no feeling' - it is the type of feeling and attitude you need to have so you can continue to pitch.

The main feeling I know my DD has is that she is mad she didn't execute on her pitch when she expected herself to. When you hit someone you have to have a feeling of 'shared blame' - "yes I threw a bad pitch, but they should have been able to react to that and protect themselves better".

The batter's injury has to be secondary in the pitcher's mind after they get hit because if the pitcher is worried about hurting someone they will hit someone else pretty soon afterwards. Or they will completely collapse mentally and their pitching goes down fast. And then the loss of confidence cycle starts - and for some players this can last days, weeks or even months.

I have seen players give up pitching because they just don't have the mentality to handle it. You have to have a certain mindset to be successful as a pitcher. There is no way you can successfully pitch as hard as you can at someone if you are thinking about the possibility of hurting them.

I agree w/ the comments here. Good points. It's a good teaching moment, really There's no need for guilt, and it's no more the fault of the pitcher than the batter for choosing to play a game that involves the risk of being hit. It's no one's fault. I just wouldn't want to tell my pitchers something that could be mistaken for the idea that we should have no regard for the other team.