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Question About Foul Tip on Strike Three (Ball Bounces)


timelydew
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Question is simple - with two outs or with first base unoccupied, if a batter nicks (foul tips) a pitch with two strikes on him that skips into the catcher's mitt, is this still considered "sharp and direct" enough to be considered a foul tip into the glove, or must it be caught without a bounce? Keep reading for the other part of my question which is related.

Assuming that's not a foul tip and not an automatic strikeout, is this just a foul ball, or could it be an uncaught third strike? I was playing MLB: The Show and this happened. With two out, the batter nicked/tipped the ball, which bounced into the dirt and into the catcher's mitt. It was not treated as a foul tip, but rather as an uncaught third strike where the catcher had to make the out at first. Was this incorrect? I actually can't seem to find these answers. To me, that's just a foul ball, isn't it? I've set it so the umps make occasional mistakes, but when the uncaught third strike happened, I figured something was amiss.

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4 minutes ago, timelydew said:

Question is simple - with two outs or with first base unoccupied, if a batter nicks (foul tips) a pitch with two strikes on him that skips into the catcher's mitt, is this still considered "sharp and direct" enough to be considered a foul tip into the glove, or must it be caught without a bounce?

Assuming that's not a foul tip and a strikeout, is this just a foul ball, or could it be an uncaught third strike? I was playing MLB: The Show and this happened. The batter nicked/tipped the ball, which bounced into the dirt and into the catcher's mitt. It was not treated as a foul tip, but rather as an uncaught third strike where the catcher had to make the out at first. Was this incorrect? I actually can't seem to find these answers.

It's not just a foul ball.

If you read the definition of foul tip you will see that ti has to go directly to the hand or glove. It didn't. It went to the ground first.

But as the batter swung, it was then an uncaught third strike.

So yes - it was correct.

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4 minutes ago, Rich Ives said:

It's not just a foul ball.

If you read the definition of foul tip you will see that ti has to go directly to the hand or glove. It didn't. It went to the ground first.

But as the batter swing, it was an uncaught third strike.

So yes - it was correct.

I honestly had no idea that a ball tipped into the catcher's mitt on a bounce in the dirt wasn't just a foul ball, but an uncaught third strike. The more you know, I guess. Thanks

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7 minutes ago, timelydew said:

I honestly had no idea that a ball tipped into the catcher's mitt on a bounce wasn't just a foul ball, but an uncaught third strike. The more you know, I guess. Thanks

Because I don't think it got tipped/nicked.  Nicked pitches hardly ever bounce into the glove. And only if it's strike three.

But if it somehow did it would be foul.

 

 

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3 minutes ago, Rich Ives said:

Because I don't think it got tipped/nicked.  Nicked pitches hardly ever bounce into the glove. And only if it's strike three.

But if it somehow did it would be foul.

 

 

It DID get nicked (I used slow-motion replay and the ball also made a sound off the bat), bounced in the dirt, right into the catcher's glove. So it IS just a foul ball if this happens? And not a strikeout as I originally thought? Maybe I didn't interpret your answer correctly. And as I said, the game is set for occasional umpire mistakes. 

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13 minutes ago, timelydew said:

Question is simple - with two outs or with first base unoccupied, if a batter nicks (foul tips) a pitch with two strikes on him that skips into the catcher's mitt, is this still considered "sharp and direct" enough to be considered a foul tip into the glove, or must it be caught without a bounce? Keep reading for the other part of my question which is related.

Assuming that's not a foul tip and not an automatic strikeout, is this just a foul ball, or could it be an uncaught third strike? I was playing MLB: The Show and this happened. With two out, the batter nicked/tipped the ball, which bounced into the dirt and into the catcher's mitt. It was not treated as a foul tip, but rather as an uncaught third strike where the catcher had to make the out at first. Was this incorrect? I actually can't seem to find these answers. To me, that's just a foul ball, isn't it? I've set it so the umps make occasional mistakes, but when the uncaught third strike happened, I figured something was amiss.

Something about @Rich Ives's answer isn't jiving with what you're describing... '

Pitched ball makes contact with the bat, then hits the ground (for the sake of this scenario and brevity, we'll say it is foul ground behind Home Plate), then goes into the catcher's mitt – that exact sequence, 1-bat, 2-ground, 3-mitt –that's a Foul ball.

In order to be a Foul Tip, it would have to be 1-bat, 2-mitt (and a catch). If it went 1-bat, 2-mitt, 3-ground, then that is, again, a Foul Ball. The only way this becomes an Uncaught Third Strike (U3K), needing to be completed by tag or throwing to 1st base (or the Batter conceding he is out, etc.), is if the ball doesn't contact the bat. So we'd have a 1-swing (no contact), 2-mitt or ground, 3-ground or mitt, etc.

Keep in mind you're taking this scenario from a video game. Yeah, good luck with them getting that right.

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14 minutes ago, MadMax said:

Something about @Rich Ives's answer isn't jiving with what you're describing... '

Pitched ball makes contact with the bat, then hits the ground (for the sake of this scenario and brevity, we'll say it is foul ground behind Home Plate), then goes into the catcher's mitt – that exact sequence, 1-bat, 2-ground, 3-mitt –that's a Foul ball.

In order to be a Foul Tip, it would have to be 1-bat, 2-mitt (and a catch). If it went 1-bat, 2-mitt, 3-ground, then that is, again, a Foul Ball. The only way this becomes an Uncaught Third Strike (U3K), needing to be completed by tag or throwing to 1st base (or the Batter conceding he is out, etc.), is if the ball doesn't contact the bat. So we'd have a 1-swing (no contact), 2-mitt or ground, 3-ground or mitt, etc.

Keep in mind you're taking this scenario from a video game. Yeah, good luck with them getting that right.

Thanks! Yeah... I know, but seeing it happen made me question a rule that I thought I had a handle on. When you see something that goes against what you know to be incontrovertibly true, it raises red flags and questions. I think it's just a simple glitch, albeit an annoying one. Apparently, I'm not alone. I felt pretty darned obtuse for asking this, but it's in my nature to make sure of things even if I know I'm right.
 

 

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A foul tip must be caught, or it's not a foul tip. If the ball makes contact with the bat and then bounces into the catcher's mitt, I've got a foul ball. If it's a foul ball, it can't be a U3K, because with 2 strikes, it wouldn't be a strike, just a foul.

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9 hours ago, timelydew said:

Question is simple - with two outs or with first base unoccupied, if a batter nicks (foul tips) a pitch with two strikes on him that skips into the catcher's mitt, is this still considered "sharp and direct"

Most of your questions are pretty good.  So, I'm surprised that you can think that a batted ball that hits the ground could be considered as going "direct"(ly) to the mitt.

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On 9/2/2017 at 10:15 PM, noumpere said:

Most of your questions are pretty good.  So, I'm surprised that you can think that a batted ball that hits the ground could be considered as going "direct"(ly) to the mitt.

Yeah... haha. When it happened in my game, though, it threw me, so I had to ask begrudgingly.

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