View Single Post
  #26 (permalink)  
Old Thu Jan 29, 2004, 04:15pm
IRISHMAFIA IRISHMAFIA is offline
Official Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: USA
Posts: 14,565
Quote:
Originally posted by mcrowder
A player can definitely be in possession of a ball he/she did not catch. The most obvious example being the fielding of a ball or simply the picking up of a ball on the ground. The "catch" rules sited are in reference to CATCHING a ball (in other words, controlling a batted ball before it hits the ground in such a way to allow an OUT to be called). You certainly wouldn't be using the same rules to say a fielder didn't POSSESS the ball when he/she tagged a player simply because he didn't catch it before it hit the ground. The rules sited are irrelevant to this topic.
Well, I certainly wouldn't doubt a NFHS rule book stated such a thing, but I am not aware that for a ball to be legally caught, it was required to be inflight. As far as I'm concerned, "fielding" a ground ball is synonymous with "catching" a ground ball.

Quote:
I don't have the book in front of me. But we should be looking at the rules desribing what a fielder must do with the ball when tagging an opponent or touching a base for a force.

Also - what a player may or may not do with a ball is also irrelevant to whether he/she controls it. It was mentioned that if a player couldn't throw the ball or hand the ball to a teammate, he doesn't possess it.
That's demonstrating control and voluntary release. I know this may be a stupid question, but does NFHS not recognize the throwing of a glove with the ball wedged in the webbing or fingers as a matter of control to put out a runner as long as the recepient controls them as a single unit?

Quote:
Where is that in the book? I've never heard such a description of possession (in any sport). Certainly if the player's grasp (by her hand) is keeping the ball from dropping (to the ground or further down the shirt), the hand is CONTROLLING the ball - which is what is at issue.


__________________
The bat issue in softball is as much about liability, insurance and litigation as it is about competition, inflated egos and softball.
Reply With Quote