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Originally posted by greymule
Dakota: My Fed 2002 softball rule book does not include "speedily" in the definition. Where do you see that?
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In the 2001 book - the one I had handy. Sorry.
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According to ASA's case book ruling, the catcher going to the ball is the determining factor in whether the ball went "directly" or not. Therefore, "not over the batter's head" is irrelevant. If on a pitch that resembled anything like a strike the ball was hit over the batter's head, then the catcher would have to go to the ball to catch it. Now there is that one play where the batter foul tips a pitch that's already over her head (not so third-world, either; I've seen it happen more than once). Does ASA include the "not over the batter's head" clause simply to ensure that we call an out in that particular case? Hard to believe.
What if ASA defined a foul tip as "a batted ball that goes directly from the bat to the catcher's mitt or hand and is legally caught by the catcher"? Except for that one "third-world" play, what play would we call any differently?
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I'll admit it is hard to cook up a case where the "over the batter's head" is the only condition of the three that is not met.
Also, this part of the rule is a constant nuisance with coaches, since they think that
if it is below the batter's head, it
must be a foul tip.
They way I call this, if the catcher is moving to the
pitch, and the tipped ball goes into her mitt, then it is a foul tip. If, on the other hand, she is moving to the batted ball, then it is a caught fly ball.
Suppose a high pitch that is a pitcher's error - i.e. the catcher was not set up for the high pitch, so the catcher reaches up / stands up in reaction to the pitch. The batter swings at the pitch above her head and tips the ball, which goes directly into the catcher's mitt.
Foul tip or catch?
By rule, catch, since it was above the batter's head.