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Troy; (et al)
You know somehow, sometime those who chose the verbage in all the rule books will understand that small changes can bring about new and better understanding of the rules and how to apply them. If every umpire started to refer to the "FAIR LINE" and "FAIR POLE" it just might lead to better communication. We all know if a batted ball hits the 'line' or the 'pole' it's not foul, but fair.
Unless the ball touches anything (surface, structure, person, object) outside of fair territory then it is still 'in play.' I've worked at more than 150-200 sites and can only remember one time where the FAIR (foul) pole was not in live ball territory. In your example, if the ball hadn't made contact with anything and the pole is at the end of the home run line/fence/barrier it's still live. When the pole is beyond the home run line, etc. then I sure hope it was part of the pre-game conference discussion.
ED
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