Couple of Questions
 

Batted ball hits top of fence in the outfield. What's the call? Is it a homerun or just like a ball coming off of the green monster?

Batted ball stops in batter's box, do you draw your imaginary lines and determine if it is fair or foul?

1. Home run if it bounces over the fence after hitting the top of the fence.If the fence has a yellow border across the top it would be a HR if hitting the yellow as designated in the ground rules.

2. Take an imaginary line extending from both foul lines to the back tip of the plate.Within the lines,on the lines, or on the plate- fair ball.

Jeff

Speaking ASA

The ball is live until it actually contacts a part of the dead ball territory. So, if it contacts DBT, it is a home run (assuming fair ball), if not, it's still in play.

You better use your eyes and judgment, don't think you are going to have time to draw anything. Wouldn't do it if I did have time. Either it is in fair territory or not. The existence of the batter's box is irrelevant to the play at hand.

okay....

so what if the fence is made of wood... the wood is weak, and the ball goes THROUGH the fence?

HR or 2B?

Did the ball leave the field of play? Yes ... so you have to award something.

Did the ball go over the home run fence? I'll leave the rest of this exercise to you. But don't "What-If" yourself to death here.

As an umpire, you would learn more if you come up with these bizarre scenarios, decide what you'd rule on the field, and then go find the rule that applies to see if you got it right. Posting TWP's here won't teach you much, other than specific answers to scenarios that would never happen.

Not a what if... but a "it happened last week during league play."

official on the field ruled it a Ground Rule Double.


thanks for caring.

Sorry. Guess I got confused by your question, which started with "What if"... Sorry to think you might mean what you say. My bad.

Your point? I led you 90% of the way to the answer. You don't want to take that last step, it's not my problem.


You're welcome. I thought I was being OVERLY patient with you. Next time I won't bother.

That would be the correct ruling.The play would be the same thing as a ball passing through a gap at the bottom of the fence and into DBT which in a lot of cases is common place on many fields.

Jeff

Bear in mind that some fields have ground rules that specify what should happen during certain live play situations. We have one park that has normal, 6' high chain link fences around each field's live ball area. However, one field has a section of fence in the outfield that, for 60', is about 25'-30' tall and is a completely different color. Ground rules at that field state that the ball must still clear the fence for it to be declared a home run. Other parks may have a similar physical setup, but may rule it differently for whatever reason (ie., Green Monster at Fenway).

Beyond any field/league-specific ground rules, the ruling is correct. 2 bases.

That stresses the importance of the pre game meeting with the coaches.Cover all ground rules unique to the field you are umpiring on.Excellent point,Dave.

Jeff

Why would anyone even consider such a ground rule necessary? Either the ball leaves the park or not. If anything, there should be a ground rule only if something else is in effect.

BTW, when the top of the fence is painted or covered with material of a different color, it is usually (if not always) as a visual aid, not a demarcation of DBT.

Kind of like the "ground rule" in one of the leagues I play in: If a fielder throws the ball out of play unintentionally, runners get 2 bases from the last base touched at the moment the ball was thrown.

Love that one. Guess my ASA book is just a collection of ground rules.

Just wanted to emphasize the point that there are ground rules at different fields, and we should know them beforehand. That's all I meant, Mike. ;)

The most important thing is to make sure at pre-game.We have several high schools and one College team in my area which uses a yellow 6" diameter plastic tubing across the top of the HR fence,that if the ball strikes the tubing it is a HR.Just make sure before the game begins.

These are pretty basic questions.

Have you read a rule book recently?

A ground rule defining the top of a fence as a home run would overrule the most common ruling that if the ball came back in the field of of play it would be all the runner could get.

A ball hit directly to the batter's box, without touching the batter, could be fair or foul, depending on where the ball was fielded by a defensive player.