HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL Homerun?

It depends on exactly where the ball goes out of play.  Behind the fence or foul pole would be a HR.  If it came off the fence and somehow went out of play down the line before the foul pole in fair territory, I would rule it a ground rule double. Not sure I have ever seen that happen though.

then again, I am not an umpire.

Thanks PGSTAFF ! I am saying the TOP of the fence (in fair territory) and then goes over the fence, from foul pole to foul pole. Not deflecting into foul territory. The ball NEVER touches a fielder, and does not deflect off a glove.

NFHS Rule 2-6 ART. 1 A batted or thrown ball is in flight  ...... UNTIL it has touched the ground or some other object other than a fielder.  SO;

NFHS Rule 8-3 ART.3a  Four bases if a fair ball goes over a fence in flight.

Some other object being the outfield fence.

Not HS, but in college one of my son's HR's (the first of that season) hit the top of the fence and landed beyond the fence.  Umpires ruled it a HR.

The ball bounces three feet in front of the fence and goes over. Field umpire is 75 and blind as a bat. What's the call? You guessed it! Home run!

In reference to the original post, that's a home run. 

I remember in MLB a ball bounced off Canseco's head and went over the fence. Home run.

Gotta be a home run.   I think.

HR... read 2-5 as well...  Think about what 2-6 says "is in flight until..."  Where some other object other than a fielder could be an overhanging tree branch, a rock, a stick, a bat on the ground, or as Randy Johnson found out - a bird...   A fence is an object, but it's also a boundary object.  You cannot "catch" a ball off a fence for an out, but you can have a ricochet off a fence to deadball territory.

Many years ago, I worked at a college turf field where behind the metal (silver) fence were large rocks (think a culvert) all having that "color" of a used baseball... Sun setting behind my back, so there's glare off the fence.  The fence is about 350 away and the batter launches a missile - the ball could have landed on my side of the fence or the other, but it bounced really high (like it hit a rock) so I'm thinking HR, then I see the LF play the ball and throw it back in.  So the question is - did the ball go out, hit a rock, carom back in and the smart LF play it or did it just hit in front, have a high bounce and he plays it?  Too long ago to recall how things were awarded, but until you've seen it happen, you could be less than blind as a bat and not make the right call.  BTW: a few years later I was back at that same field and those rocks were removed.  I have a feeling the home team lost an HR or two and the HC ordered the area be reworked.

It is a homerun.  I have seen it happen a lot. 

In order to answer this question, the umpire must look beyond the rule and case book for HS. The reason is because this point in HS baseball, batted ball hits top of the fence for HR, is not covered. No amount of stringing HS rules together will get you there. So it's futile to attempt to do so.

Umpires will use interpretation books when specific rule situations are not covered by the rule books. Examples of these books are the "Rules of Professional Baseball" written by Jaker and Roder and "The Baseball Rules Difference" (BRD) written by Carl Childress.

Section 22 of the BRD, Awards to: BR: Batted ball hits top of fence and goes over, states that this point is not covered in FED (HS). Use interpretation by Brad Rumble, former rules interpreter for FED.

Rumble: "It is a HR if a batted ball hits on top of the outfield fence and then bounds over in fair territory."

NCAA: Same as Fed interpretation. See also NCAA 7-6 AR 2

That AR (approved ruling) states, "If a batted ball hits the top of the fence while in fair territory and then bounces over the fence, it is a home run."

So to answer the OP's question it is a home run. As an umpire, I can't just tell you it is because I feel it in my bones. I have to have some definitive proof as per the example I have shown above.

I believe this is a homer. Any disputes?

The ball hits off the fence. It caroms back and off the chest of the outfielder running towards the fence. His body momentum pushes the ball over the fence.

Has anyone ever seen this happen? The closest I've seen is the ball that bounced off Canseco's head. It wouldn't have cleared the fence without hitting him. But it didn't hit the fence first.

RJM posted:

I believe this is a homer. Any disputes?

The ball hits off the fence. It caroms back and off the chest of the outfielder running towards the fence. His body momentum pushes the ball over the fence.

Has anyone ever seen this happen? The closest I've seen is the ball that bounced off Canseco's head. It wouldn't have cleared the fence without hitting him. But it didn't hit the fence first.

Once the ball hits off the fence and comes back into play, it cannot be a homerun.  Award 2 bases.

yeah, Ump27 is right. we had that happen in a game, my kid hit one that bounced off the top rail of the fence and then hit the center fielder in the knee and went over the fence... it  never hit the ground; I was sure it was a home run... but nope, the umps gave him a double and I couldn't wait to look it up and see they were wrong...  

well, sadly, the umps were right and I was wrong....  

in the OP i think it's a home run, but like it says here I've been wrong before

Now, I'm confused.  Why wouldn't that be a home run, ala the one off Conseco's head?  Because it hit the wall first?

The situation where this would be 2B IMO

Ball hits the top of the fence right at the foul line goes in the air out of play over the fence in foul territory on the side before the outfield fence.

Once again, I have never seen this happen, but I guess it could. Also once the ball hits the top of the fence, it doesn't have to hit the ground behind the fence to be ruled a HR. As soon as it touches anything behind the fence it is a HR.  As soon as it touches anything inside the fence it is not a HR.  If it touches anything other than the ground (like Canseco's head) before the fence and still goes over in the air, it is a HR.

The exception would be the ball that actually hits the foul pole above the fence.  That would be a HR no matter where the ball lands.

There are ball parks that have something like another wall behind the HR fence. Actually that is one of the reasons for the replays in the big leagues.

smokeminside posted:

Now, I'm confused.  Why wouldn't that be a home run, ala the one off Conseco's head?  Because it hit the wall first?

Right -- because it hit the wall first (and "changed directions").  So, it didn't leave the field in flight.

There's a specific FED case play on this (that someone else can look up).  The ruling is the same in all codes.

Thx!