Batter's Box Baseball Rules Breakdown - High School Baseball

[@DavidEmerling79]

This entire series on high school rules has been great! Very helpful and accurate. I like how you do it rather succinctly - without wasting a lot of time. You get right to the point. Keep up the good work. How about a video on just random case plays - involving *any* of the rules - just for fun to see how well we do?

[@UmpireClassroom]

Glad you like them! Definitely an interesting idea!

[@rayray4192]

@@UmpireClassroom any idea why Feds. have to be different or is it an unexplained mystery? Official baseball rules allow pasty of the foot to be on home plate when a pitch is batted. Feds. declare it an out. Why? I would surely like this question answered.

[@austinbarnthouse630]

Good use of graphics.

[@SteveEchohawk]

Patrick, keep up putting out great intructional rules videos. Im about to start Year 25 of umpiring. Its good to watch your videos and refresh my knowledge of NFHS rules. Im watching intently in Tulsa, OK.

[@UmpireClassroom]

Appreciate the support!

[@HollywoodScoob]

Great analysis! Thanks for the explainations

[@mikewheeler5310]

Patrick, You guys ROCK!!! Thanks so much for your hard work.

[@UmpireClassroom]

Thanks for the support!

[@jameshickam1787]

Great Job.. Houston County Baseball Association appreciates these.

[@UmpireClassroom]

Thanks for watching and sharing!

[@MichaelDaniels]

I love the braves shirt!

[@elmer2020]

Nice work, super helpful, I would like a topic of interferences by runers

[@bobp6164]

Always great stuff Patrick - Thank you. You may want to revisit Case play #8 answer C or are you checking to see if we read it all the way through.....:)

[@CoachG19]

Serious question: Where does it say in the NFHS rule book that the batter has to take a position that is entirely within the lines of the box? If it says the lines are part of the box wouldn’t it be legal as long as a part of their foot is touching the line?

[@UmpireClassroom]

The NFHS rules say as presented in the video. HOWEVER, the NFHS Case Book specifically gives the ruling that they must take a position entirely within the lines of the box. This is a different way to get to the same rules as in OBR. Remember, the Case Book carries the same weight as the rules book under NFHS. Case Play 2 in the video is directly pulled from the case book.

[@CharleyPainter]

What batter squares around to bunt blocking the view of the pitcher and doesn't make contact with the ball and the runner on third steals home.?

[@dogpatch75]

Many high school baseball umpires also work high school softball. It would be beneficial if these discussions would include differences in the rules of the two games where they exist. For this particular subject, the rules of play are identical. One interesting difference does exist in dimensions of the box. In softball (all levels), batter's boxes are 3' x 7' with four feet of the box oriented toward fair territory measured from the middle of the plate. The added foot in front of the plate is necessary to accommodate slappers. The narrower width is adequate for women.

[@tomcarboni9234]

Are there any videos which cover what happens when a batter uses an illegal bat? I can’t find a video on this and don’t know where to comment. Is he out immediately as soon as he enters the box with an illegal bat? Is he allowed to switch bats if an illegal bat is discovered? What if the illegal bat is discovered after a play happens but before the next pitch? My league follows NFHS rules but I had two different things called on me when one of my players used an illegal bat and when I called another team out for using an illegal bat (the same bat my player used).

[@willisratcliff2285]

Thanks. Invaluably informative.

[@UmpireClassroom]

Glad it was helpful!

[@davej3781]

I found myself puzzled by questions 9 and 10. they seem like exactly the same question... I kept re-reading them thinking I was missing something, but eventually concluded they are the same question with the same answer.

[@dfulf]

Is there a video regarding 2 man hand communications during a game?

[@UmpireClassroom]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/naabl2NoaLerorc

[@robertbrown7470]

Would be nice to include a play where the batter's foot is touching the inside line of the batter's box and his foot is partially touching the plate when the batter hits the ball.

[@gamblingknowledge]

I thought during this video that you should’ve covered a batted ball hitting the batter which happens 10 times more often than a batted ball hitting the bat a second time intentionally or unintentionally. A batted ball hitting a batter while the batter has a foot outside the box with the ball in fair territory is a play that happens much more.

[@MichaelDaniels]

I learned something. I thought as long as part of your foot is in the box, then you would not be called out for the foot touching the plate.

[@davej3781]

What you thought was correct for rulesets that don't start with "N"; if other comments haven't clarified this for you, touching the plate while batting the ball is illegal only in NFHS and NCAA rulesets. MLB, MiLB and many amateur and youth leagues and tournaments play under some variation of OBR, including Little League, wherein the plate is not a magic no-touch zone.

[@MichaelDaniels]

@@davej3781 awesome. That is what I thought in my mind.

[@JoshThePitBull]

What if your front foot is in the batters box when the pitch is thrown, but LANDS in front of the box after you hit the ball?? You out??

[@JoshThePitBull]

I'll leave my comment even though 7 was the answer thanks

[@JeffreySpooner-k4b]

Consuelo Vista

[@DerekKirchner-y1j]

Gabriella Glen

[@MrFreedom14]

I don’t understand how to reconcile case play #2 and #5. In case # 2 the stance is illegal. In case #5 the batter starts legal but after the swing ends up in a position that is illegal in case #2 but somehow is legal in case #5. The feet positions are the same. The only difference is that in case #2, the batter’s initial stance is illegal. In case # 5 the stance is legal, but the stride puts the batter’s feet in the same position as in case #2. In my opinion, in the interest of streamlining and simplification, all rules concerning these types of situations should require the batter’s feet to stay in the box “pre” and “post” stride.

[@CarllyleAnna-b7m]

Duncan Highway

[@thatzwhat]

Case Play #8, Option (c) "...and we will replay third down."

[@WoodEnid-w8j]

Earlene Islands

[@fusionstyle67]

2 straight years the NFHS test has been issued with an incorrect answer in the answer key. The batter "legally hits the ball", then the ball bounces up and contacts the batter after the stride foot has come down completely outside of the batter's box. The NFHS answer key says "foul ball". Wrong, this is an out. I emailed Mr. Hopkins, was told he would get back to me, but that was 2 months ago.

[@davej3781]

my NFHS association is saying this isn't in fact an incorrect answer, as the batter's other foot is still in the box. the don't want this play officiated as an out until both feet are out of the box.

[@fusionstyle67]

@@davej3781 the Wendelstedt manual and all of the interpretation manuals disagree

[@bofa83]

If the lines count why would #2 be illegal?

[@UmpireClassroom]

Because when getting positioned in the box, the batter must be completely in the box. Not partially.

[@BoswellWill-x3d]

Dalton Cape

[@UrsulaHinman-o2g]

Ritchie Underpass

[@EunKort-m3v]

West Ranch

[@ConstanceHarriet-o9n]

Donnelly Junction

[@HaeNovitski-e5l]

Lexie Mountains

[@Mukaddesİlhan-k2g]

Lola Valleys

[@FaradayBoyd-j7j]

Amely Lock

[@MH-Tesla]

FYI, in Little League, the foot must always be completely outside the box. Touching home plate with part of the foot while another part of that foot is still in the batter's box, including on the line of the box, is not an out when hitting the ball. I only mentioned this because a lot of high school umpires do Little League All-Star tournament games in June and July.

[@UmpireClassroom]

Correct! That is the OBR rules!

[@davej3781]

this is because, as you probably know but perhaps not everyone does, the Little League rulebook is almost word-for-word verbatim of the pre-2015 Official Baseball Rulebook. NFHS on the other hand is (somewhat) more similar to NCAA rules. in this instance, the NFHS rule is the same as the NCAA rule, 7-10: An illegally batted ball is: a. A ball hit, fair or foul, by the batter when either one or both of the batter’s feet are upon the ground entirely outside the lines of the batter’s box or when touching home plate; Honestly I do not like the NFHS/NCAA rule here. Why should the plate be some magic no-touch zone? There's no special advantage to the batter to touching the plate as he strikes the ball. If the batter has his foot overlapping the batter's box line and the edge of the plate he's committing some grave violation, but if his foot is in the same relative position an inch behind the plate or an inch in front of it, now he's fine? Why? I guess someone once got their panties in a wad over a batter touching the plate, and now we're stuck with this stupid rule for most of amateur baseball.

[@JoshThePitBull]

Outside the box?!?!? Why,that's dumb

[@JoshThePitBull]

Are you serious??? Why?? So the kids have to have a leg stretched out ,PAST the box, and his other foot NEEDS TO BE ON THE PLATE AND ON THE BATTEERS BOX??!! DUDE YOU MUST BE ON SOMETHING THAT GOES INSIDE A GLASS BOWL ....

[@sofiababcock5669]

Norbert Plaza

[@AlanBrown-w9b]

Martine Manor

[@EricRodriguez-h8b]

Cyrus Crossroad

[@GracieOtto-t3z]

Savanna Dale

[@JuliusMoreno-i7x]

Arlene Turnpike

[@LeonardButters-s7i]

Myles Rapids

[@FrankieDelgado-g8z]

Austyn Route

[@AnthonySean-s9f]

Spinka Well

[@RobertBrown-i8s]

Sanford Centers

[@BethuneMaurice-b9i]

Fisher Tunnel

[@DarrellWidger-g4p]

Yasmin Divide

[@ReubenLinzie-i9q]

Jodie Track

[@DariusKroupa-p3d]

Rath Squares

[@LucienRomaro-k6n]

Senger Points

[@ejohnjones12]

That’s a terrible interpretation to say that a batter must assume both feet in the box else get a penalty. Rule 7-3-1 is there to ensure batters don’t delay game by keeping one foot out and slowing up the game purposefully. That rule does NOT mean you penalize the batter if one foot is outside. There’s a few other inconsistencies as well.

[@YaleJoseph-u3s]

Feeney Union

[@jimscholz2997]

These rules discriminate against someone with hyuge feet..

[@WordsworthBennett-n3s]

Olson Expressway

[@SuzanneBonds-b9d]

Judson Mills

[@BartlettParker-k6v]

Kraig Wells