At a pre-game conference, I have seen to many times where everyone shakes their heads and then something like this happens and it still questionable what was said in the pre-game. In an area as discussed, it should be clearly obvious that when the ball goes in dead-ball territory, it is a dead ball and book rules apply accordingly.
I always mention at the plate, "if the ball goes under the fence or in the tarp, or any other dead ball area , tell your OF's to put up their hands , we will let the play continue and complete. We will then go out and make a determination of the award if any".
Now, do the coaches explain that to the OF's, I don't know, but it pays to make sure everyone understands the ground rules.
In Carl Childress's book, "151 ways to Ruin a Baseball Game", this is No. 1.
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