Quote:
Originally posted by SC Ump
For it to be a catch on a batted or thrown ball, a ball must be released voluntarily. This is not the primary concern in a tag play.
In a tag, the ball must be held securely during the tag.
With the above statement, it sounds as if the tag was not yet judged by the offical to be completed and thus I believe it should be safe.
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That's not totally true. According to ASA Rules, a valid catch is established if
"the fielder shall hold the ball long enough to prove total control of it and/or that the release of the ball is voluntary and intentional." In the words of Henry Pollard, that meant that if the umpire felt that the fielder
COULD have released the ball voluntarily, then you should consider that a catch.
Nonetheless, I suspect we are picking at nits, and all have about the same interpretation; we are somewhat limited by the description. If the tag was complete, we saw control, and then the runner kicked the ball out, we have an out. If we didn't see control, then we don't have an out. How long does it take, or how long was the time lapse here? Can't be described, so why pick at it? Bottom line, you have a tougher sell on the out, and we don't guess outs, so if you aren't sure, the runner is safe.