[greymule]

ASA was right to remove the "not higher than the batter's head" clause. The criterion of "directly from the bat" is sufficient, and the height of the batter's head is irrelevant.

The clause was probably originally there to say, "If it pops over the batter's head, it can't be considered 'directly from the bat.'"

However, foul balls can be below the batter's head and still not be "directly from the bat." And in some instances, the ball could be above the batter's head and still be directly from the bat: Batter swings at a pitch over her head and barely ticks the ball. Catcher reaches up and catches the ball directly off the bat. Under the old definition, that was technically not a foul tip (though I can't really imagine any umpire calling it a caught fly ball). It is now.

The safety base changes are also intelligent. There are many plays in which the right fielder throws out a runner at 1B, so why not go for safety there, too?

Since ASA did not amend their OBS rule about an intervening play canceling the immunity of a runner who had safely reached the base he would have reached without the OBS, I assume that ASA meant what it said last year, that there had to be an intervening play. Our UIC had maintained that an intervening play was not necessary even though the book said it was.