jordan
Junior Member
We are all Warriors for Christ
Posts: 14
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Post by jordan on Jun 27, 2008 21:54:59 GMT -8
Is a chop swing legal? it happened in the game tonight and I'm sure its not legal like a swinging bunt is not legal? I could be wrong but can anyone see if thats in the rules for me and let me know?
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Post by X-Commish on Jun 28, 2008 20:57:36 GMT -8
We had a similar situation where the player did a chop swing because the pitch was high. It wasn't intentional, it just turned out that way because of where the pitch was and the fact that most players would rather hit than walk. Gary, do you have some input from personal experience in the league or from the ASA rule book?
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Post by gmcardle on Jun 29, 2008 6:42:24 GMT -8
I have not read in the official ASA rulebook, (and I've read it cover to cover) anything about the "chop swing" This is one of the modifications for our league. I called someone out on Friday night because of this. The rule does state deliberate, and so this is a judgement call. I figure the way a bat is swing is deliberate, and most likely the player does not know the rule, or understand what a "chop swing". As we enforce the rules, the players will learn them better and more aquainted with the rules. I also had a game last Tuesday that the same thing happened, but the batter-runner was thrown out at first. It was the third out and I made sure to mention to the individual about the rule and that if he hadn't been thrown out, he would have been called out for the chop swing. Hope this helps!
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Post by X-Commish on Jun 29, 2008 9:48:25 GMT -8
My understanding of our league rule is that a chop swing is similar to a bunt in that 1) it is intentional and 2) hits the ball straight down into the dirt in order to gain an advantage. Hopefully the umpire can distinguish when the rule is violated and when the player is simply swinging at a high pitch to try to legally put the ball in play. I would not want us to call a player out on this rule who was not intentional, and have their response be "fine then, I will take the walk next time rather than hit."
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Post by bombersbomb on Aug 3, 2009 23:19:05 GMT -8
happened again this year in one of our games to intentionally not hit the ball towards someone and to get on base (gain an advantage)...something all umpires should refresh on for the tourney  |
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