contradicting or not

[jicecone]

The definition of an imaginary line is a line that is "existing only in one's imagination". Synonyms: unreal, nonexistent, fictional, fictitious, pretend, make-believe, mythical, mythological, fabulous, fanciful, storybook, fantastic.

Which leads to the insanity of this rule in the first place. Fair and foul balls at least have a clear definition on the field (most fields) by a pre-defined chalk or painted line. But, having the ability to judge the position of a batted ball, relative to a line that is imaginary. That in itself is not only quite a feat but, I myself, can't even imagine it.

I can certainly understand your questions however, sometimes some rules just don't make ANY sense at all. This happens to be one of them. It would be interesting to know the history of this.