I was watching the WCWS final game last night and there was a record 9 batters hit by pitch. I know in softball there is not a requirement for the batter to attempt to get out of the way of an errant pitch but last night in all of the 9 instances it appeared that each of the batters had ample opportunity to avoid being hit. In half of them, it was almost blatant moving the arm or elbow in order to get hit. I think only one girl on UF had a valid HBP but she was slapping and her step carried her toward the plate, so it could be argued that her movement caused it - definitely wasn't intentional because she got pegged on the knee cap.
UF has made a living off of HBP for awhile now and it is within the rules, but the commentators made a comment last night that the rules committee was looking at HBP and were looking to make some changes. Personally, I believe the first thing they should do is ban the elbow protectors and there wouldn't be as many batters leaving that elbow in there. Other than that, I do not know what they can honestly change that will not have a significant impact on the game - any requirement to make an attempt to avoid being hit will be a judgement call by the ump, which they have enough power with judgement calls now.
Thoughts?
UF has made a living off of HBP for awhile now and it is within the rules, but the commentators made a comment last night that the rules committee was looking at HBP and were looking to make some changes. Personally, I believe the first thing they should do is ban the elbow protectors and there wouldn't be as many batters leaving that elbow in there. Other than that, I do not know what they can honestly change that will not have a significant impact on the game - any requirement to make an attempt to avoid being hit will be a judgement call by the ump, which they have enough power with judgement calls now.
Thoughts?
