Trapped Ball

[charliej47]

FED: R1, R2, 2 outs, 3-2 on B5:
B5 swings at the pitch and F2 scoops the ball and dirt goes flighting everywhere. B5 takes off for 1st and F2 starts looking everywhere for the ball and can’t find it. Everyone is running and then F2 shows me his glove with the ball stuck in his webbing. I ruled “trapped ball 8-3-3-(d)”.

F2 tries to tell me he caught it and the DC tries to back him up. I award one base to everyone and ask for the next batter.

The DC wants to argue and I state "Coach, your catcher has to show he has the ball and has control. He couldn't do either one when the batter took off for first." I ruled a trapped ball because it stuck in his webbing. Lets play.

[johnnyg08]

if the ball was stuck in his webbing...wouldn't that mean that he caught it...or after the ball went in the dirt, then it lodged?? I would caution you making a lodged ball call when in your post, you state that the ball is lodged in the player's glove

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

if the ball was stuck in his webbing...wouldn't that mean that he caught it...or after the ball went in the dirt, then it lodged?? I would caution you making a lodged ball call when in your post, you state that the ball is lodged in the player's glove

Just because the ball is in the glove doesn't mean he caught it, If it went in the dirt, then into the glove, still a D3K.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by charliej47

FED: R1, R2, 2 outs, 3-2 on B5:
B5 swings at the pitch and F2 scoops the ball and dirt goes flighting everywhere. B5 takes off for 1st and F2 starts looking everywhere for the ball and can’t find it. Everyone is running and then F2 shows me his glove with the ball stuck in his webbing. I ruled “trapped ball 8-3-3-(d)”.

F2 tries to tell me he caught it and the DC tries to back him up. I award one base to everyone and ask for the next batter.

The DC wants to argue and I state "Coach, your catcher has to show he has the ball and has control. He couldn't do either one when the batter took off for first." I ruled a trapped ball because it stuck in his webbing. Lets play.

If the ball was stuck in his webbing, why didn't he pull the ball out? Why did he show you the baseball? You said F2 tried to tell you he caught it, so if he was showing you the ball to say he caught it, he should have been able to pull the ball out. Was the ball lodged so bad as to require extra effort to remove it?

Either way, it was an uncaught third strike. That is the ruling on the field. If you needed to kill the ball for a lodged ball, then that would be the right call.

You didn't really say "trapped ball 8-3-3d" when you made the call, did you? The way you wrote it makes it sound that way.

[RPatrino]

Seriously, you don't yell out the appropriate sections of the rule book as you make your calls, Steve?

[UmpJM]

Bob,

I'm sure that, like me, Steve only does so when he's prepared to "back it up" by also citing the appropriate case play references.

Charlie,

That's quite a call. A couple of questions that I'm not clear on from your post:

1. Did the catcher catch the pitch in flight?

2. Was the catcher able to remove the ball from his mitt? Or did you make your call before determing that?

JM

P.S. Do you have many ejections in your games?

[LMan]

I'm still looking for the term 'trapped' ball myself

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by RPatrino

Seriously, you don't yell out the appropriate sections of the rule book as you make your calls, Steve?

Let me say it like Pesci in My Cousin Vinny

I didn't say I did, I said it sounds like he did: He said, "I ruled 'trapped ball 8-3-3-(d)'."

It kind of reminded me of Gomer yelling "citizens arrest, citizens arrest" to Barney Fife.

[RPatrino]

You just made it sound so 'friggin unusual'....LOL

[SanDiegoSteve]

Oh, I get it now. You two "Yutes" are being funny. HA!