Quote:
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Originally Posted by Daryl H. Long
Exactly.
From pg 10-11 of Umpires Manual:
#6: On every ballted ball the progression of responsibilities is as follows:
a. fair or foul;
b. catch or no catch;
c. in play or out of play;
d. awarding bases
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The order of our responsibilities has nothing to do with this post. The OP asked a VERY simple question which required only one clarification, and with that clarification, the answer is simply fair ball. Everything else you said was a red herring, and likely confused the OPer.
The instant it touches a player of either team, we have either a fair or foul ball. We may have other calls to make after that, depending on this, that, and the other thing... but one thing we surely have when it touches the player is an answer to OP's question. Speculating on what those other things may be only confuses this VERY simple issue.