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Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve
A FOUL TIP is a batted ball that goes sharp and direct from the bat to the catcher's hands and is legally caught. It is not a foul tip unless caught and any foul tip that is caught is a strike, and the ball is in play. It is not a catch if it is a rebound, unless the ball has first touched the catcher's glove or hand.
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UmpTT - I am with ya bud, posted this exact same thing a month or so ago and was like you, looking for a rule ref to back up my understanding of the call. NFHS is clear but you can't quote that when playing OBR. And the problem I have with OBR is just what Steve quotes - the definition of a foul tip ceases to apply in your OP as soon as you get to the clause about "the catcher's hands." Everything after that in the FT definition would seem to apply only if the batted ball meets the first criteria (catcher's hands). Since the batted ball DID NOT go sharp and direct to the catcher's hands, you would think it now is classified as a Foul Ball because it touched something in foul territory (catcher's mask). And I can't find anything in OBR that says that a foul BALL is dead when it strikes a catcher's equipment - otherwise, that second portion of your OP (hits the mask on the way down) would kill it.
So we are left with adding to the Foul Tip definition isothat a batted ball that goes sharp and direct and touches anything (catcher, umpire, fence, bird, etc.) but the catcher's hands, is dead. Ya think OBR could edit that in during the next edition?