Quote:
Originally Posted by CecilOne
I think this answered all the questions, especially given the OP saying "picks up ball that is laying in fair territory and throws it in".
There is a difference between intentionally doing something (almost everything we do) and doing something with intent to violate a rule or in a rule sense.
It is similar to the INT wording of active, as oppose to intentional. Several ENGLISH WORDS cause confusion with RULE WORDS; e.g., appeal, interfere, intentional, foul tip, protest, etc. and we should not let that affect a discussion or more importantly a ruling.
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This line of reasoning is in my mind somewhat specious. Imagine that before the game you're going to get the coach and you hear him tell his team this:
We're playing with a temporary fence today. If you end up falling over it and the ball is still in play, grab it immediately and throw it in. Don't climb back over the fence first.
And then a girl asks him why and he answers. Don't worry about it. I don't want you to know what will happen if you do it because if you know it will change what the umpire has to rule.
The dugout case play is clear that legitimate attempts to play the ball that result in the ball becoming dead are one base awards. I'm not going to try and determine if the fielder new she wasn't supposed to field the ball; I'm just going to apply that. (Though frankly I wish I could distinguish it as I think this should be a two base award.)