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Originally Posted by RonA
Yes I have had those other situations on the bunt and the ball sent down the baselines before, and I learned VERRRRY quickly (after getting yelled at) about those situations. But, that long fly ball sort of had me puzzled.
As to the possible base award situation, wouldn't it have been just a runners advance at their own risk thing though, because it was just a fly ball?
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It was just a fly ball, no different from any other fly ball, except that you must pay attention to where it is (over fair or foul territory). You were correct in your priorities - you need to determine fair or foul first, but you were incorrect in actually verbalizing the FOUL before the ball was touched, dropped, or caught.
Assume for the moment your fielder had not carried the ball out of play, and this was not the third out...
Once the ball was caught, it was merely a caught fly ball, with all baserunning rules that would apply to any other caught fly ball. The runners could advance at their own risk. If they did not tag up, they would be in jeopardy of being ruled out on appeal, just as with any other caught fly ball.
If it had been dropped, it would be just a foul ball. That is why you need to place your first priority as determining fair or foul (where was the ball when first touched) rather than catch or no catch. Once the ball is dropped, it is too late for you to see where it was when first touched.