85% missed this one

Originally Posted by lawump

As one member in our association argued in defense of his "true" answer (and he argued a lot more eloquently than I can write):

He said look at the meat of the question: "a runner shall touch his base after the batted ball has been caught by a fielder".

He said that is true.

When told by another association member that the answer is "false" because a runner must touch a base after the ball has been TOUCHED by a fielder, he said, "that's not what the question is asking. A runner does not have to re-touch his base after it is touched, he only has to re-touch if it is caught. Meaning, that if the ball is touched by a fielder and then dropped, the runner is not liable to be put out for failing to re-touch. It is the act of the fielder making a legal catch that imposes upon the runner the requirement to retouch his base.

"Thus, a runner shall touch his base after the batted ball has been caught by a fielder is true, because if the fielder does not catch the ball there cannot be a requirement to retouch, period."

However, I also see the other side. The question says "AFTER the batted ball has been caught..." and that IS false if you look at it from the point of view that the runner does not have to wait on the bag until, as JM points out, the fielder completes his catch with a voluntary release.

This is a BS question. As I said, 85% of our association got it wrong. Despite that, our association had the highest average grade of any association in the Palmetto State with an average score of 92 (we have 50+ members)...so, some of our guys know how to take this test (but apparently not this question).

Oh well.

Half of the questions on the test are based on a direct quotation of the rule. This is about as straight forward a question as possible. For anybody to suggest this question is True better go back and read the entire rule book. The basic reason the answer is false is that caught only describes the final result, not the method to the final result. If the guy bobbles it 10 times before finally securing it for a catch, a runner tagging up from first could probably make it around the bases by the time the fielder finally secures it and meeting the requirements for a catch. If you say catch is the requirement, a fielder could bobble the ball all the way into the infield and a runner could never advance. That's why they write the questions the way they do - to make sure you read and understand the question and apply the rules properly.