How would you rule?
 

At one of our local parks, there's some knucklehead who flies his model airplane. A lot. While it's his right to fly the model plane in a public park, he quite often flies a little too close to the field, sometimes as low as 40-50 feet above the outfielders' heads. We can't see whoever it is, and I don't think it's malicious in intent.

However, my question becomes: what if a pop-fly ball to the outfield hits that plane? How would you rule? Would it be different from, say, hitting a bird?

And how many of you have visions of Randy Johnson's pitch hitting the dove in mid-flight? :D

I would believe that this would be a situation that is not covered by the rule book and an umpire can rule as s/he sees fit. In your play, on a popup, fielder camped under the ball and then the ball hits the plane, I have an out.

For consistency, I'd suggest a local park ground rule be established.

Well, let me toss this out there. ASA 8-2-C: "The batter-runner is out when after a fly ball is hit, the ball is caught by a fielder before it touches the ground, any object or person other than a defensive player."

However, there's also ASA 8-2-N: "The batter-runner is out when a spectator reaches into live ball territory and interferes with a fielder’s opportunity to catch a fly ball. EFFECT: The ball is dead. The batter is out and all runners are awarded the bases that in the umpire’s judgment, they would have reached."

Now, the spectator himself did not "reach" into live ball territory with his arm, per se. However, would you consider the act of flying a model plane into live ball territory an act of "reaching in?"

Either way, I think you're screwed. You either have an out due to spectator INT, or you have what's basically a ground ball.

Which one would you go with?

Play it like a wall

Gladly! The good thing is that if this were to happen (and I do see it happening someday), the plane would likely be knocked out of the sky and crash-land on the field. Poor knucklehead will have to come to the field to get his trashed plane, while I tell him, "Serves you right. There are games going on over here, moron."