Play from Iraq

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

And how many times do I need to reiterate that this is not my clarification, but that of the NUS?

None... I didn't say it was. I never thought it was. Not even sure why you said this again.

I believe you are overthinking this based on semantics. Would it have made a difference if the defender tripped and his head hit the ball out of play? Forget the kick/throw rhetoric as that is all it is. The point of the clarification was that it wasn't the actions of the batter hitting the ball that caused the ball to enter DBT. It was the fielder that caused the ball to enter DBT.

I may be overthinking it, I grant you that. And no to your next question - if the defender tripped and his head hit the ball out of play, no, it would not make a difference. Still 2 bases from TOP. The "clarification" (now beginning to think we're using this word VERY loosely!) seems to me to apply to intentional actions by the fielder.

I can't say this for certain, obviously, but it seems unlikely that the people who wrote the "clarification" intended umpires to now be in the business of deciding whether the batter or the fielder imparted more impetus when a ball is deflected out of play.