Uh, I'm no baseball guy... have never worked the game. But do you call a ball if it is clearly a HBP situation and the batter decides he's not going to get out of the way? He allowed the ball to touch him. Surely you're just kidding, AB?
I'm about as liberal an umpire as I know in giving the benefit of the doubt to the batter. But he has to do SOMETHING to avoid the pitch, however feeble it might be.
All the rule codes (FED, NCAA, OBR) require the batter to attempt to avoid the pitch. The NCAA has a few "contradictory" interpretations of the rule. In various places they say:
If the batter intentionally lets the ball hit him, it's just a ball.
If the batter makes no attempt to avoid getting hit, it's a ball.
But then they have an Approved Ruling that says:
If the batter freezes and is hit by a pitch that is clearly inside the vertical lines of
the batter’s box, the ball is dead and the batter is awarded first base.
Now, try judging the difference between "no attempt" and freezing and getting hit while in the box.
Personally, I think if the ball hits the batter while he is clearly in the batter's box, it's the pitcher's fault and the batter should get first. But the batter can't be so blatant as to CATCH the ball. He has to give me SOME chance of giving him the benefit of the doubt.