Every good umpire will tell you, “…if I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a 100 times: THE HANDS ARE PART OF THE BAT”.

I’ve heard it from players, fans, coaches and even umpires.

But, it’s simply wrong.

The hands are NEVER part of the bat!

Here’s a test to see if this is true:

Hold a bat in your hands, then drop it. Did your hands stay attached to the bat? No? Then the hands aren’t part of the bat!

Need another? Go to a sporting goods store. Look for a bat with hands attached. Can’t find one? Then the hands aren’t part of the bat!

This comes up when a batter is hit on his hands by a pitch. He may be swinging, avoiding the pitch or just standing at the plate doing nothing. When an umpire awards first base to a batter who is hit on the hands, usually someone calls for a foul ball – “the hands are part of the bat”.

Now, there isn’t a rule that says “The hands are NOT part of the bat”. But understanding the rules of baseball requires you to understand what they don’t say can be as important as what they do say. Don’t read things into the rules that aren’t there.

The rules define what a bat is and don’t mention hands. [OBR 1.10; NFHS 1.3.2; NCAA 1.12]

Some rules even define a PERSON of a player or an umpire as “any part of his body or his properly worn clothing or equipment”.

So, yes, the helmet is part of the batter. The uniform is part of the batter. The shin guards are part of the catcher and the mask is part of the umpire.

But the hands are NEVER part of the bat!

It’s important to note that only equipment that is worn – and properly worn at that – is considered part of the PERSON for these rules. [OBR 2.00; LL 2.00]

For example, if a batter’s helmet fell off as the pitch was coming in and the pitch hit the helmet now laying in the dirt – it wouldn’t be a hit-by-pitch.

Also, if anyone wants to interpret that this mention of equipment being part of the player means that the hands are part of the bat – they’d have it backwards. It would actually mean that the BAT is part of the PLAYER!

Therefore – every time a ball that wasn’t a strike or wasn’t swung at would result in a hit-by-pitch. Silly, I know. But, it just goes to show that the rules do not say anywhere that the hands are part of the bat.

See the photo of Shane Victorino after he was hit on the hand after pulling back his bat from a bunt attempt in Game 5 of the 2009 World Series. No argument ensued about it being a foul ball!

Please see “Hit By Pitch, Take Your Base…or Not?” for all the details of the Hit By Pitch rules. But trust us, none of those rules say that hands are part of the bat (or that a runner doesn’t get his base because he was hit on the hand).