Announcement

author

Rule Clarification

Posted by Hendon Park Sports Association on Jul 14 2013 at 05:47AM PDT in 2013 Regular Season

Dear Players,

It has come to our attention that there is some confusion about the rule regarding the batter being hit by a pitch.

A player can be hit by a pitch and can be awarded first base should an umpire decide that is what is necessary.

When will a base be awarded?
A base will be awarded should an umpire decide that a pitch was coming in too fast for a player to move out of the way.

What may cause me to not get awarded a base?
1) If the umpire feels that the pitch was delivered at a slow enough speed that the batter should have been able to move out of the way.

and/or

2) If a player makes no reasonable attempt to try and move away from the pitch, or just stands still and intentionally allows the pitch to hit him, again determined by the umpire.

This is the normal rule used for all fast pitch games, and is identical to the rule used in baseball. Please make sure you share this information with your players so that they don’t get caught off guard should this arise in one of your games.

Thank you,

The HPSA Executive.