What happens to a batter when the ball strikes him while he is in the batter's box?

When a ball strikes a batter who is in the batter's box, it is considered a foul ball only if the batter has not swung at the pitch. If the ball strikes the batter without the batter making a swing, the play is ruled as a foul ball which does not result in any penalties or the batter being awarded first base.

In this situation, if the ball touches the batter while they are standing in the box and they are not swinging, the governing rules state that it is treated similarly to other foul balls – the result is simply an additional strike annotated against the batter if they have fewer than two strikes. Foul balls in this context are part of the game mechanics that allow the batter to continue participating in the at-bat while maintaining the opportunity to eventually hit the ball.

Although options like the batter being awarded first base or the play continuing with no penalties may seem plausible under different scenarios, the specific context of the batter being struck while in the batter's box leads to the clear ruling of a foul ball, reinforcing the batting rules of the game.