Batter’s Box Rules
This video is all about the rules pertaining to a batter in and around the batter’s box.
Major League Umpire, Ted Barrett, discusses the rules surrounding a legal batting stance. Can a batter step on the line? Can he step out of the batter’s box? Is it legal for a batter to step on the plate? Barrett answers these questions and more in this short 3- minute video.
Isn’t this video wrong? At about 0:45 in the video, he says the batter’s position is legal as long as any part of both feet are in the batter’s box. However, Rule 5.04(b) (5) says that “The batter’s legal position shall be with both feet within the batter’s box.” The related Approved Ruling states that the the lines defining the box are within
the batter’s box. Thus no part of the batter’s feet can extend outside the line.
I see where you’re coming from because the word “within” is used which makes it seem like the whole foot must be inside the outer edges of the chalk that defines the batter’s box. However, I believe that the Approved ruling to 5.04(b)(5) is there to clarify that any part of the lines constitutes the player being within the batter’s box and that is also what they seem to get at in the video.