Fair, Foul, Out, Dead Ball???

If it touches the foot out of the batters box, the batter is out, however, for a foot to be out of the box, the foot needs to be completely out of the box, if it is touching any part of the white chalk of the batter's box, the batter is still in the box.

foul ball.......

Not even going to debate it or even give it a second thought....if I determine he is still in the box given the split second this occurs, Im going with foul ball..........

quote:

Originally posted by johntaine21:
If it touches the foot out of the batters box, the batter is out, however, for a foot to be out of the box, the foot needs to be completely out of the box, if it is touching any part of the white chalk of the batter's box, the batter is still in the box.

If he's starting to run but one foot is still in the box, I believe he's still considered to be in the box and it's a foul ball. I think what you're thinking about is when he actually hits the ball with the bat. In that case, if one foot is completely outside of the batter's box then he is considered out of the box and he's out.

In most cases when the batter hits the ball and the ball hits him, this happens very quickly. Probably no more than a couple tenths of a second. The foul ball call by the umpire is a virtual no-brainer. The batter is considered to be still in the box.

At our chapter meeting Monday evening one of our JV umpires said that the following actually happened to him in a recent game and he was looking for a definitive answer.

Situation: The batter hit the ball and the ball went straight down and hit the plate. The ball bounced high off the plate. The batter didn't run to first base and the catcher didn't move to field the ball but both were looking around (apparently trying to locate the ball). When the ball descended the batter was now standing with his left foot still in the box and his right foot out of it (in front of the plate) and the ball hit the batter on his shoulder.

The question posed by the JV umpire was: "Is the batter out for being hit by a batted ball while out of the box or is this a foul ball because the batter was hit while still in the box." He called the batter out, by the way, but wasn't convinced that he had made the right call.

I have to admit, I was stumped; which is why I'm posting this scenario here. All help appreciated.

I don't have my HS book handy but 6.06a in OBR says one foot out of the box is an out. I can't imagine it is different in HS rules. As PIAA says it happens quickly and usually will default to foul if you are not sure. In your play it was no doubt because it happened in slow motion. Your umpire was correct.

Thanks Mike.

I just get frustrated sometimes when I can't find my special reference book: "Common Sense Approaches to Third World, Weirdo & Once-in-a-Lifetime Plays".