R3 grabs foul ball

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

While picking up a foul ball or
otherwise touching it may not, by such act itself, actually deflect the course of the ball, an umpire
may judge such act as deflecting the course of the ball if, in the umpire's judgment, the ball
might have become a fair ball had it not been touched.

This is exactly what I was going to say. It is the umpire's judgment of whether the ball might have had a chance to go fair. 6 feet off the line is a bit farfetched to imagine hitting anything that would cause it to go fair.

7.09(b) is the correct rule to apply if the ball is near the line.