ASA April Clarifications are posted

[BretMan]

Play: B6, a slap hitter, is hit by a pitch a) while out of the front of the box and b) while out of the front of the box preventing the ball from entering the strike zone.

Ruling: In (a) the ball is dead and a ball is awarded the batter and in (b) the ball is dead and a strike called on the batter.

Is a slap hitter out of the front of the box automatically considered to have made no effort to avoid being hit?


Play: B1 hits a soft line drive to the left of F6 which enters the pocket of his glove and then allows the ball to fall to the ground before securing it to create a double play possibility.

Ruling: If in the judgment of the umpire, the ball entered the pocket of the fielder’s glove and the fielder caught the ball and then intentionally let it drop from the glove, the ball is dead, the batter is out and runners return to the last base touched at the time of the pitch.

It might be more useful if they made it clear that the fielder must first complete a catch that meets the definition of "a catch" under rule 1. Then, the batter is out on the catch, the ball becomes dead on the drop.

As written, it almost makes it sound like the ball just "entered the pocket of the glove" then was allowed to drop (even though they do say the ball was caught in the "Ruling"). I could see someone not familiar with this rule (just the sort of person a rule clarification is aimed at) reading that as the ball was guided to the ground.