New Official (Almost) with a Question

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by FeetBallRef

. . . If a catch is supposed to happen, why wouldn't the rules reflect that the ball wouldn't be dead until it hits something in dead-ball territory???

Because the rules are the skeleton of umpiring that must be fleshed out with authoritative interpretations. The literal meaning of many rules is often refined by their customary application. See AtlUmpSteve's post above for the customary application of an outfielder catching a ball after it has broken the plane of the outfield fence.