Dead-ball Area &

umpyre007 · #3 (**permalink**) Sat Feb 24, 2001, 04:27pm

Quote:

Originally posted by Carl Childress

Quote:

Originally posted by umpyre007
BRD Section 116: Catch: Dead-Ball Area: Thrown From

OBR: The fielder, unless he falls down or loses body control, may throw from any dead-ball area. (5.10f: 7.04c CMT 2)

The concept of "falling" in dead-ball territory after a catch is a well-documented concept. However, this concept of "losing body control" is a new concept to me. There are no OFF INTERPs, Notes, Plays or other clarifying comments in the BRD concerning this concept. Additionally, I have reasearched all Authoritative Opinion and Official Interpretation materials available and they too seem [unless I missed something] silent on the concept.

Could someone enlighten me on this "losing body control" concept, providing possible examples and authoritative and/or interpretative material?

I'm sorry for the inconvenience. It's a pity you wasted all that time researching JEA, J/R, Knotty Probems, et. al. (all Authoritative Opinion and Official Interpretation materials available) and didn't research the paragraph directly above the OBR comment that puzzled you; i.e., the NCAA rule book at 6-1d.

Those who are familiar with NCAA-level baseball or its rules will surely have recognized the term is borrowed from that book. It is an attempt by that committee to define "falls."

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...and don't mind discussing valid baseball umpiring concepts in a public forum for all to see.

BUT, that NCAA term has nothing to do with the OBR interpretation noted in the BRD. The NCAA's attempt to define "falls" has no place in the OBR. Unlike the NCAA, there ARE numerous opinion and interpretation materials available for defining this specific ruling.

Again I submit: Could someone enlighten me on this "losing body control" concept, as it applies to OBR ONLY, providing possible examples and authoritative and/or interpretative material? Specifically, under OBR rules what loss of body control [other than falling down] would lead to the umpire declaring the ball dead and thus awarding bases?

Barring that, perhaps the "losing body control" concept needs to be ignored when discussing this situation under OBR rules?