[greymule]

It's not about where you land, but about ability to not land there.

I understand that the fielder's momentum is involved, though after a catch fielders don't often enter DBT purely out of choice. But whether or not the fielder falls or remains standing is key, except apparently where there's a "seating area." This rule makes sense, because if a fielder sprints toward the fence, makes the catch, and then hurdles the fence to place himself in the seats, it's likely he will become tangled with spectators and seats. This could make it difficult to determine whether he has "fallen" or not. I was just wondering about an aisle between the seats (or maybe a walkway in front of the seats), where it would probably be easy to tell whether or not he had fallen.

When I was playing (many years ago), I asked an umpire I knew (he was soon in MLB) whether a fielder could make catch, hurdle a fence, and throw from "Row F." He said, "Yes, as long as he doesn't fall." So apparently at some point since then, MLB appended the part about the seating area.