I'm with Mike on this.
There is a baseball play (bare with me a minute,Mike) in which F5 is watching a batted ball roll up 3rd base line wanting it to go foul. R3 has returned to the 3rd base bag, and the batted ball, still in fair territory, hits his foot while he is in contact with the bag. In baseball, the bag is not protection from being ruled out if hit by a fair batted ball. The ruling was that F5 could have fielded the ball with ordinary effort, and therefore the ball was treated as if it had passed by the fielder, and the runner was not out.
This would add weight to Mikes arguements.
Couple of questions though, Was the runner carrying his white cane when he ran into this fielder? And, was the cane properly padded with at least 1/2 inch of slow recovery rubber or similar material?
Roger Greene
|