Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Slick
My last point about fair/foul status: when a fly ball is hit in the outfield (say over fair territory) are you declaring it fair while in the air? In a pop fly where the catcher is tracking in foul territory, are you holding up your arms to indicate foul? Or your aforementioned little spinner down the line -- are you indicating fair prior to being touched, then changing your signal to foul once touched over foul territory? Of course, the answers to all these questions are: "No, I don't indicate fair or foul until one of the two definitions are met."
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My entire point is that the umpire may not know or be able to determine whether it is fair or foul until the criteria are met. BUT, the batted ball always had that status from the time it hit the bat. It is fair/foul the moment it is hit, even if the umpires do not know which yet. Similarly, the IF is an IF the moment it is hit and the batter is out at that time, even if it takes the umpires a couple seconds to determine/realize it.
If you say it "has no fair/foul status" until it meets the definitions, then you have to read NFHS 8-5-1 as allowing runners to continue to advance until the ball "is foul." This is absurd. It was foul the moment it was hit, even if nobody knew it yet.