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New twist on ball thrown out of play
I saw this happen the other night...
Runner on first base with nobody out. Batter hits a line drive to center field. The runner is about three-quarters of the way to second base when the center fielder makes a great diving catch. The center fielder then throws wildly to first base in an attempt to make a double play. The ball hits the side fencing and starts rolling towards the out-of-play boundary line in front of the offensive team's bench area. The ball then hits the batter (who was out when the fly ball was caught and was heading toward the bench) on the foot and then rolls out of play. Had it not hit the batter, it certainly would have rolled out of play anyway; no defensive player was close enough to stop it. The umpires ruled that the ball was immediately dead when it hit the batter on the foot, thus denying any advancement on the wild throw going out of play.
I don't know if I agree with this call. Do you?
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