First Baseman Trap

[rickfriedmann]

I might have missed one in a Varsity fastpitch yesterday. 1B made a great stretchout to a ball in the dirt, kept it from going by, and would up with her bare hand holding the ball tight and snug while she kept her foot pressed against the side of the bag. Only problem was the ball in her hand would touching the ground. I rang up BR (no complaint from the coach) but thinking about it I began to think "trap". The Fed rulebook is no help. 2-10-1(f) talks about the GLOVE being over the ball but not the bare hand.
Fed Baseball makes this pretty clearly a trap but what about Softball?

[SC Ump]

My understanding of the rule this year is that the player has to bring the ball off the ground before you are to judge she has control of it, i.e. she's got to do this before the runner arrives at the bag.

[NSABlue]

By my reading of the NFHS rule book, a catch is when the player has secure possession of the ball in a hand or glove. If, in your judgement, she had secure possession of the ball in her hand, even though it was in contact with the ground, it should be ruled a catch and in this case an out. A trap is when the ball is under the glove. No glove in this sitch so we have a catch.

[NSABlue]

Originally posted by SC Ump
My understanding of the rule this year is that the player has to bring the ball off the ground before you are to judge she has control of it, i.e. she's got to do this before the runner arrives at the bag.

I believe this applies to a ball trapped under a glove, not being held in a bare hand.
Please see 2.10.1 Situation B in the case book. It clearly indicates the ball being trapped under a glove.

[Edited by NSABlue on May 12th, 2005 at 10:10 PM]

[chuck chopper]

To me, a ball on the ground with fingers on it, is a ball on the ground. I want it in the hand.

[whiskers_ump]

JMHO, but the ball lying on the ground would not show control. Reads like a trap, views like a trap and would
certainly smell like a trap.

[rickfriedmann]

It's hard to describe, but the girl held the ball TIGHTLY under her hand, with her fingers snug around it. For example, no one would have been able to kick it away from her. It's just that the ball was on the ground when she was holding it.

[mdntranger]

I would have to say that this would definitely have to be a HTBT situation and a 100% judgement call. In my opionion, if a player has a ball in their bare hand, firmly grasping the ball, that is enough for me to judge 'control' of the ball no matter what the ball may be touching.

One of my more interesting plays I've called had a player running to second on a force with a bang-bang play. The runner overran second and ended up on his back, off the base. The second baseman dropped the catch, but the ball landed right on the player's stomach. The second baseman grabbed the ball and lifted it up to show me control. Safe on the force, out on the tag.

[whiskers_ump]

I agree if defensive player lifted and showed control. That was not mentioned in this post...."Show Me The Ball"......
Your case was simplier...A tag, showed control.

[mcrowder]

This is all extremely HTBT.

But while contact with the ground precludes a CATCH - it certainly doesn't preclude POSSESSION.

Possession is all that's required here, either with glove or hand... regardless of whether the ball is also touching the ground or not.

That said - I grant you that a ball in a glove, also touching the ground, is a LOT harder to rule "possession" on than a glove in a HAND touching the ground. Why - it's hard to get glove fingers AROUND the ball - so a ball in the glove touching the ground could easily be not possessed.

In the sitch described, I likely have possession, and an out.