Quote:
Originally posted by JJ
I dropped a note to Elliot Hopkins about some of this "lodged ball" stuff - here's the exchange -
Elliot,
I've been watching the baseball section of the Official Forum (http://www.officialforum.com/) and there's been some interesting discussion on FED rules and interps. Here's an interesting one -
"R2, one out. Screaming liner to F6, who catches the ball and tags the frozen R2 off the bag. As F6 reaches in his glove to toss the ball on the mound on his way to the dugout, BU notices F6 has to dislodge the ball from between the fingers of the glove. The boys in Indianapolis want us to reverse both outs, score R2 and put the B/R on 2nd? It'll take both hands to count the ejections."
There have been some insightful threads - including one I started asking for suggestions on revisions for the NFHS umpire manual for upcoming issues. Enjoy!"
His reply -
"It is funny you mentioned that scenario. I just added two new casebook plays to address lodged equipment issues. We are going through the umpires manual revision as we speak. If you have something really pertinent please send it to me so I can review it. In terms of your situation, I do not see how you can justify reversing both outs. The below mentioned play is covered by rule in NFHS BB rulebook 2-9-1 (out) and 2-24-4 (tag out). We would not make that interpretation for those reasons. . Keep well."
Elliot
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From what I've heard privately about Elliot and his ruling and your email, it seems the issue is still not black and white in regards to ALL lodged ball scenarios.
I would hope you would accdpt his invitation and attempt to get a case play based on the scenario you sent him. I would also like to see him address this situation, which actually happened in one of my games this season:
R3, R2. Two outs. Deep fly to RF. I was BU in C. F9 catches fly for third out and runs in. As I head for short right, I reach out to indicate that I'll take the ball. "Can't get the damn thing out of my glove, blue" F9 says running past me.