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Originally Posted by CecilOne
Does that depend on whether the aforementioned gap between the foul pole and the side fence/line was declared a dead ball line as a ground rule?
Is that for all codes?
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Unless you are willing to allow a fielder to run out that gap and catch a fly ball on the back side of the home run fence for an out, you pretty much have to consider the fence and its imaginary extension an automatic dead ball line. And, yes, that would apply to all codes. Most definitions of dead-ball territory start with something like "That area beyond any real boundary, such as a fence ....". In my mind, it is understood that
ALL the area past that fence is dead ball territory.
In order to not consider that dead ball territory, you would need to have defined in your pregame how the line does extend after the end of the fence. Does it curve back around behind the fence and make that area live, or does it then extend at a 90 degree angle to the end of the fence, and run parallel to the side fence or line? All obvious absurdities which could never be accepted; the obvious answer is that the home run fence is extended.
And, yes, this also still applies even if the fielder gets the ball without stopping and raising their arms.