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Well the biggest misinterpretation of that rule is that the pitch designates the ball being PUT IN PLAY... which isn't true.
The ball is put in play when the umpire says "Play" (or otherwise signals a live ball) so a firstbaseman can stand in fair until the umpire makes the play live and then straddle the bag... he doesn't have to stay fair until the pitch...
If a pitcher can make a pick-off to first then the ball must be IN PLAY or he couldn't make a PLAY... thus if he can pick off then a firstbasemen is allowed to be in foul territory...
At least thats what I've heard... am I right?
ex. third baseman stands in normal position, umpire says play and points to the pitcher, ball is now live... prior to the pitch the third baseman can now go stand in foul territory and remain there throughout the pitch... correct?
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