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I was always taught that the base umpire should only call "dead ball" in this situation if he is 100% sure the batted ball struck the batter's body. If he is less than 100% certain, he should let the play proceed. If the offensive team complains after the fact, the umpires can confer and then get the call right. I've seen the reverse happen a few times: The base umpire thinks the batted ball has struck the batter's foot and calls foul--only to realize that the ball hit the ground in front of the batter. That's a worse mess to be in.
[Edited by John Robertson on Jun 3rd, 2005 at 02:19 PM]
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