Quote:
Originally Posted by RKBUmp
I'm pretty sure most rulesets have wording in them about what discarded equipment is allowed to be on the field without penalty and they are the batter's discarded bat and the catchers discarded helmet.
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Unfortunately, neither the LL rule book nor the casebook talk about "discarded equipment". They just generalize everything that isn't dirt, grass, bases, and pitcher's plate as items foreign to the natural ground. That would include batting helmets that fall off a runner's head, and gloves/mitts that inadvertently fall off a fielder's hand.
Then they say that if a thrown or pitched ball touches one of those items foreign to the natural ground, the ball is still live and in play (LL doesn't recognize the Blocked Ball concept). The same if a batted ball touches such an item in fair territory. Only if the foreign item is in foul territory and gets touched by a batted ball before it becomes fair is it a foul ball.