Federation rules state:(Rule 8, Art2)A Foul Tip is a batted ball which goes directly and speedily from the bat to the catchers mitt or hand not higher then the batter's head and is legally caught by the catcher.
My question is how to determine how speedily the ball needs to be to be a foul tip. Sometimes the ball will pop about a foot up ( not above the head) and then come down into the catchers glove for a legal catch. My tendancy is to call foul caught ball (batter is out) but sometimes you wonder if it should have been called a foul tip.How about 6 inches? Where do you draw the line for dirctly and speedily?

[Edited by collinb on Feb 24th, 2001 at 04:15 PM]

Foul Tip
 

A foul tip should go directly from the bat to the catchers mitt. If the ball raises any at all and must drop or "come down" I would consider this a foul ball, and not above the batters head. I have a tendancy to have a hard time telling speed of the ball but "direct" should be pretty straight foward

Leave it to NFHS to make a ruling more difficult than necessary.

ASA and NCAA have no "speed" requirements to determine a foul tip. In both cases, if the ball goes directly from the bat to the glove without going above the batter's head (assuming that would be in their extended post-swing position), it is ruled a foul tip.

If you run into a coach who knows his rules and you refuse to let a runner keep the base she just acquired via a steal, you may have one helluva good debate.