what would happen if a batter swings at a pitch that would hit him?

Answer 1

Then it is still a strike, since the hitter swung at it.

Answer 2

If a batter swings at a pitch that would ultimately hit him (aka hit-by-pitch), the umpire would record the strike. Why? The main rule for a swinging strike is that the batter must swing the bat "fully" and completely missing it. Since the batter is already in a full swinging motion (probably close to follow-through) and a pitch already hit him, the rule stays in effect. If the batter stands still or tries to avoid a beam ball but still gets hit, its an automatic base.

Here's something cool: If the pitcher bounces the pitch and hits the batter, the official call for that is a hit by pitch. Most would argue that since the projected pathway of the pitch is in the general direction to the batter, the pitch is intended to hit the batter, hence a hit by pitch. So tell your kids to stand still when a pitch hits the ground and lightly hits the kid (if the pitch loses force when it hits the ground). Most umpires won't call it because some aren't too technical about it.

Answer 3

Then it's a strike. The rules say that, for a Hit By Pitch to give a batter first base, the pitch must have been a ball. If he swings, it's a strike and no first base.

Answer 4

if it hits you it's a strike.

I've seen it happen several times. If a pitch hits a batter while in the act of swinging, the pitch is called a strike.

Answer 5

This happened to me a couple years ago. The ball hit me but I swung so I had to keep batting, and on the very next pitch they hit me again. So I finally took my base. But yeah it's still a strike.

Answer 6

If he misses the ball, it is a strike, whether the ball hits him or not.
rule 2.00:
"A STRIKE is a legal pitch when so called by the umpire, which --
(a) Is struck at by the batter and is missed; "

Answer 7

This actually occurred rather recently. Oakland A's 2nd baseman Mark Ellis halfway swung (but the umpire said he fully went around) at a ball that ended up hitting him. The umpire called that the 3rd strike and that ended the inning.

Answer 8

Well that depends. If he hits it in, then the ball is in play or he could foul-tip it. If he swings & misses & it doesn't hit him, its a strike & he doesn't take the base.

Answer 9

the batter did swing so technically its a strike.

Answer 10

a strike on the batter