F8 carries ball over fence

[greymule]

From the J/R:

It is an overthrow when . . . (6) a fielder possesses a batted or thrown ball and intentionally enters DBT (the "throw" occurs when he enters DBT).

Note, however, that the J/R does not include unintentional carrying of the ball in its definition of overthrow or distinguish between a caught ball and a mere batted ball.

If F2 wrongly thinks there are 3 outs and carries the ball into the dugout, I guess he intentionally carried it there, even though the rule was designed to prevent an outfielder from falling into the stands intentionally to keep a fast runner on 2B from scoring on a fly ball. Maybe "intentionally and deviously" would be better wording.

I'm having a hard time distinguishing between entering DBT and leaving the field of play. It sounds to me like the same thing.

"Hal the Referee" answered rules questions in all sports, but most of the questions were about baseball. His column was in the Sporting News every week. It probably should have been called, "Hal the Sports Official."

mbcrowder, I wasn't "calling you out." Your statement was credible, and I wanted to know where to find it. Incidentally, "treat as" sounds like BRD language. I'm going to look there.

But I will not take "Hal's" word for it.

I think that by now Hal has gone to that great ballpark in the sky.

[greymule]

From Evans: Professional Interpretation: [after a legal catch] . . .

The player may throw from a dead ball territory and complete a play provided he has not fallen in the dead ball territory (e.g., dugout, stands, photographers' pit).

From the BRD:

If a fielder after making a catch enters DBT, the ball remains alive unless the fielder falls down.

But:

If a fielder, in making a catch, enters a spectator area due to his momentum, the ball is dead and all runners are awarded one base, regardless of whether the fielder has fallen or remains standing.

(What if the fielder enters "stands" that are empty of "spectators"?)

Evans cites 1950 as the time the rule was established, but he does not mention the exception for the "spectator area" (mentioned in J/R and BRD), which I did remember as having come much later. But I can't find anything in any of the books about an uncaught batted ball. Every example of unintentional entering of DBT deals with "after a catch."

However, the BRD does mention intentional carrying into DBT of merely a "batted ball" as causing a two-base award (from time of entering DBT). If unintentional carrying was the same two-base award, would that not be included in that section?