Ground Rules ?

[NCASAUmp]

Originally Posted by Chess Ref

I'm guessing I'm misunderstanding your reply.

Fly ball to the tree branches. left fielder gets under it. the ball hits a branch, fielder catches it . It's a live ball but it's NOT an out. I'm thinking thats gonna cause a lotta unnecessary grief for me.

The ball is still considered "in flight" so long as it doesn't touch the ground or "any object or person" other than a defensive player. Well, if it hit the trees, it hit an object. Same thing goes for if some poor bird gets hit mid-air. Even though the bird was 80' above the ground, it's the same as hitting the ground. "Sorry, fellas, but I didn't write the book."

Years ago, I used to call in a league that had no fences. However, on one of the fields, there was a set of football bleachers in centerfield. It took a pretty decent poke to hit the bleachers, but some of the kids could do it. If it bounced into the bleachers, we ruled it a ground rule double. Hit on the fly, and it was a home run.