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Online now: 3 members: RGainley, TABLE SETTER 11, cecil; 69 anonymousDiscussion: Foul Ball!!!!
| Posted | Discussion |
| July 15, 2004 TommyL Men's 55 7 posts | Foul Ball!!!! Can someone out there please explain to me what constitutes a foul ball? The answer you provide hopefully will be read by the boys in Pinetop. |
| July 16, 2004 Nancy Allen Men's 55 1438 posts | Tommy, your question is a little scary, and I would almost want to know what happened, but in general terms the determination is based on which side of first or third base it ends up. Past the bases it would be determined as fair if it was on or inside the foul line. The infield is the tricky part because an umpire should never determine foul or fair until it passes those same bases, stops, or touches something foreign to the field of actual play. Many an umpire has made the mistake of calling foul early, and then the ball hits a small rock or something, and it bounces inside the line fair and stops or is touched. If it bounds on or over first or third base fair, it is fair. A lot of umpires won't take the heat on this one and call it fair as it should be. The plate is fair. Probably the oddest example is the pitcher's rubber is ragged, and the ball is hit, makes contact with the pitcher's rubber and bounces to the backstop. It is foul because the pitcher's rubber is part of the field, and the ball did not pass first or third. So now what happened to you? |
| July 30, 2004 TommyL Men's 55 7 posts | My contention is that a ball is considered fare until it actually touches something in foul terriotry, the positioning of the ball is determined not by its flight, but where it eventually ends up. An umpire can not assume a ball is out of bounds, until it actually is (touches). Wind and other factors may intercede and I've seen it happen. If a player touches a ball while he is inbounds and the ball only "appears" to be to be in foul terriory; I say the ball is a fair ball. What makes the situation so bad is that the umpire initially called the fall fair and upon objection from the opposing team, he conferred with a "resident expert" who ruled the ball fair because of the "position of the ball." Judgment calls can not be overturned; only infractions of a rule. This was purely a case of an individual not, first of all knowing what he was doing and secondly, a tournament director and a non-qualiried official being conciliatory in the heat of battle. Personally, I hope our team votes never to return to Pinetop again. |
| July 30, 2004 LOBO Men's 50 39 posts | What happens when a ball goes over the first baseman's head in fair territory and goes over the fence in foul territory? Is it a homerun because it went over first or third in fair territory? |
| Aug. 2, 2004 cpope Men's 75 160 posts | Because it never hit any where fair it is a foul ball, the only place it hit was foul. Check this out for a call: FHC, West Palm Beach, bottom of 7th, we are up by one run, home team has 2 outs and bases loaded. Batter hit a shot down 1st base line, chack flies up and the ump hollars "foul ball" to make the story short because you know what went on after the call, Ump said"It hit on the foul side of the chack" Batter comes back to the plate and grounds out. We win. Good call, as long as it goes for us. cp |
| Nov. 13, 2004 arizonaken Men's 65 22 posts | This is for Nancy Allen. You seem to be pretty informed on softball rules. Hopefully you can help me with some senior softball rules. One in particular; "The Pitchers Box". You can email me at ken@azsrsoftball.com and I will fill you in on the particlulars of this argument we are having in our league here in Arizona. Thanks, ken |
