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Originally Posted by John Robertson
I've never had to rule on this play, but I'd like everyone's thoughts anyway:
Nobody on base. Lefthanded hitter up. He swings and barely makes contact. The ball is rolling in foul territory about a foot from the baseline and about 20 feet from home plate. The batter figures it's going to be foul and doesn't bother to run. The first baseman moves in to see if the ball will roll fair. The ball hits a rock or a rut and starts to suddenly veer towards the baseline. The batter realizes he's in trouble and will be an easy out, so he runs toward first base and deliberately kicks the ball in foul territory just before it was going to reach the baseline and become a fair ball.
What would you call? Foul ball? Batter out for interference? Your opinions, please.
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Foul ball. There are no rules to support INT. If the defense can touch the ball prior to coming into fair territory, why cannot the offense? Hell, the fielder is even allowed to throw their glove at the ball to keep it from coming into fair territory!
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The bat issue in softball is as much about liability, insurance and litigation as it is about competition, inflated egos and softball.
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