[Striker991]

Did you miss my smiley?

Actually, I am enjoying this debate. Don't have a game until tomorrow, then three weeks straight! So, I have a little time on my hands.

Dakota, please don't get me wrong. I understand your point perfectly and I don't necessarily disagree with you. However, if I am a coach (god help us all), and the ball hits the branch in foul territory in the air, bounces and settles in fair territory, and my batter-runner is standing on second, I will argue that the tree is not foreign to the natural ground. Of course, as an umpire, your response should be: "Coach, in my judgement, the tree is foreign to the natural ground." His protest is now over, because you have stated and applied the rule correctly and it has now become a judgement call. Hee hee...I would love to see the look on the coach's face after that statement!

A blocked ball is a different issue here. We aren't discussing that. We are discussing an instance where the ball merely hits or touches an overhanging branch. If a ball becomes blocked, the play is killed and the appropriate action is taken.

I think we have, by our discussion, made one point perfectly clear and we both agree...these issues need to be clarified at the plate during the ground rule discussion. This also means that umpires need to take the time to inspect the field when they first arrive to make note of items like this. Our association is very clear about this in our training.