Thursday, August 20, 2009

Batter Runs

Question
this is fast pitch...girl on third, one out.. batter has 1 and 1 court...the ump yells out 1n1 ....the pitch comes in it's called strike two...the batter drops the bat and runs to first base...the catcher not knowing whats going on throws to first and the girl on third runs home....WHAT DO YOU HAVE ???

Response
Our rules interpretations are based on the principal that all players, both offense and defense, should be aware of the situation.
Therefore it is the catcher's responsibility to know the count.
As described, I would score the run and return the batter to the batter's box with a 1-ball & 2-strike count.

If this was an obvious and/or repetitive deceptive act on the part of the offense team, it could be ruled unsportsmanlike. This would result in an initial warning and returning the runner to third. Subsequent acts would be cause for ejection.

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