Runner catches throw

[Pete in AZ]

Carl Childress- I might be missing something but why can't a runner or offensive player pick up a foul ball? They are taught to lead off in foul territory when on third- if they get hit it doesn't matter. Batters pick up foul balls and had them to the catcher all of the time. I've seen that in the pros. If the ball is foul it is dead. Unless it is really close and the runner one hop snags it before you make the call, the blame lies with the umpire not the player. We make the standard foul call with the uprised arms as you do. I've seen plenty of coaches argue that an umpire has raised his arms but not said a thing on a foul ball. They want the ball dead. The pros do this mechanic too. It sounds like that league administrator had a case of the needtojustifyhisjobitis. That's just my 2cents, so if it isn't worth much, I admit it. Thanks for reading this.