Fair or Foul?
 

Had a situation the other day I've never seen before. Outs, organization etc., make no difference. Batter hits a pop fly down 3rd base line. Ball hits ground just beyond 3rd base (about 2 or 3 feet), spins backwards and passes 3rd base rolling towards home and toward foul line. Ball ends up settling in foul territory. No one touches ball. Umpires don't call foul ball. Ball is eventually picked up with no plays anywhere.

Discussion starts. Ball was fair, it went "PAST" 3rd base before it went foul. Other argument was, ball wasn't touched, makes no difference where it first hit, it ended up going foul in front of 3rd base. Ball is foul.

Decision was, it was a fair ball.

What's the call? I read the ASA rules and nothing really jumped out in helping determine this call.

ASA 1, Fair Ball F: First falls or is first touched on or over fair territory beyond first, second or third base.

Ball first touched beyond 3rd base in fair territory, fair ball.

Once the ball hit the ground in fair territory past third base, it is forever a fair ball. Rule 1, Fair Ball, def F. in the ASA Book.

Once the ball hits the ground and is a fair ball, it doesn't matter what happens after that, it will not change the status of the ball.

Change WENT to LANDED and you're good here.

So none of these guys read the definitions either, huh? :) It absolutely DOES matter.

Glad they got it right on the field... You read the rules and nothing jumped out...but you missed the easy spot for this ... start with definitions. You'd have gotten this one quickly if you'd started there.

Anyone remember a few years ago the Fed rulebook left out the second base part. Before it was added, some umpires used an imaginary line from first to third. If the ball crossed that line it was ruled a fair ball.

Dave

FED baseball still uses that strange "imaginary line" from first to third to determine a fair ball. There are enough guys that do both that it's bound to cause some confusion.

That was also the interpretation for SB by the NFHS.