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This is grusome but actually happened. It happened many years ago when many fences did not have the protective equipment on top of the chain link fences.
My partner, plate umpire made the call but I did talk him into reversing it, which he did so reluctantly. Maybe the threats of bodily harm coming from players of both team and the commissioner of the league had more to do with it than me.
Men's over 30 league. Bases loaded bottom of 7th inning,2 outs, with home team at bat down 5-2. Batter hits a towering fly ball toward left-center field. Center fielder runs to fence (10 ft high) and climbs up it. At the top he slips but the wires protruding up on top of the fence tear into his right bicep (also this is his glove hand) and he is just hanging there. The ball goes into the mitt. Another player had to climb up to raise him aff the fence so he could return to the ground.
My partner ruled that since the fielder was also touching the out of play side of the homerun fence that he was in dead ball area and awarded a home run.
Call was reversed to award the catch. Even the team that came out on the losing end afterward were in complete agreement it was a catch.
[Edited by Daryl H. Long on Mar 25th, 2005 at 01:32 AM]
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