A thread in the baseball side had a side topic of interest. I hadn't really thought about it for softball - but wonder where the line is drawn in the various organizations.

In all cases, consider a ball untouched with a lot of back/side-spin that rolls backward and then across the foulline between 1B and home or 3B and home.

OBR says if the ball lands beyond an imaginary line between 1B and 3B, before spinning back across the foulline between 1B and Home or 3B and Home, the ball is fair.

FED (baseball) says if the ball lands beyond 1B or 3B (presumably beyond the line between that bag and 2B), before spinning back across the foulline between 1B and Home or 3B and Home, the ball is fair.

How far forward does such a ball have to land in: ASA, Dixie, etc in the softball world?

It looks like ASA is the same as FED(baseball). ASA rule 1 fairball.F: first falls or is first touched on or over fair territory beyond first ,second ,or third base. Brian

Speaking ASA

It depends where it first came down.

FOUL BALL
E. First hits the ground or is first touched over foul territory beyond first or third base.

This is a foul ball.

m...,

I think you had better check your rules. You have those two reversed. (See Fed 2-5-1b.)

Roger Greene


[Edited by Roger Greene on May 17th, 2004 at 11:01 PM]

mcrowder, you have OBR and Fed baseball mixed up. It is Fed baseball that draws an imaginary line between 1B and 3B. Any ball that first falls (or is first touched) on or behind that line is fair no matter where it spins or rolls after that.

In OBR, a ball is fair if it first lands fair past a base—yes, past the line connecting 1B and 2B or the line connecting 3B and 2B.

In Fed baseball, a ball that landed halfway between the mound and 2B and then spun foul across the 1B line would be fair. In OBR, it would be foul.

ASA is the same as OBR. I don't know of any code other than Fed baseball that draws the 1B-3B line. Interestingly, Fed <i>softball</i> does not use the 1B-3B line, but instead follows OBR and ASA.

[Edited by greymule on May 17th, 2004 at 11:13 PM]

My bad - I mistranscribed it. I don't do baseball at all.

PS - Mike R's rule does not tell us where the line is. A ball that lands in deep right field (severe intentional exaggeration) and spins backward across the line between 1st base and home is not foul by that one rule. Just for my edification, what is the exact verbiage in ASA that makes such a ball fair?

There is no "line" to be drawn. The rule says first base OR third base, obviously respective to the foul line the particular base is located.

If the ball first hits the ground or is touch over foul ground by a player or anything foreign to the ground, beyond the base, the ball is foul. Even if the ball kicks back an hits the base, it is still a foul ball.

I think we're saying the same thing, but the rules you refer to reference a FOUL ball returning fair. My question was a FAIR ball returning foul.

But, to clarify and to illustrate the differences between Fed BB and seemingly everyone else ...

Ball lands right in front of second base, and then spins backward rolling across the foulline between either first base and home, or third base and home. This is foul everywhere but Fed BB - correct?

Anyone with experience in both know why Fed BB is different (even from Fed SB)?

But in your original post, you did not specify where the ball landed first and which direction the ball was moving when it crossed the foul line. :)

Don't care about BB, Fed or otherwise, but I was under the impression that Fed splits the infield.