[Softball, Federation/ASA rules] Fly ball: Is the batter out??

[Guest Guest_Billy]

I watched a few games in the past weeks at both Federation/ASA and I saw completely different rulings.  I thought I understood the rules, but my brain seems to not be working.

 

Scenario #1:

B1 hits a pop fly that is between home and third.  Fielder F5 runs to catch the pop fly.  The fielder is in FOUL territory, catches the ball.  Batter is ruled OUT.

 

 

Scenario #2: 

 

(Same game)

 

B1 hits a pop fly that goes beyond third base.  Ball is in foul territory (still airborne).  Fielder F7 enters foul territory to catch the fly.  Ball is ruled FOUL, batter is not out.

 

 

Scenario #3: 

 

(Different game)

 

Same as Scenario #1, but ball is ruled "FOUL."  Umpire rings up a strike.

 

Scenario #4:

 

(Yet another game)

 

Same as Scenario #2, but batter is called "OUT"

 

 

 

I'm going through the rulebooks to find specific situations to answer these scenarios but I'm lost.  My brain tells me: If the ball is in the air and not in "out of play" territory, it's a playable ball

and, if the pop fly is caught *regardless of being between home and third or past third (or past first)* it's an "OUT"   Yet, in all of these scenarios and the rulings I saw, no one complained, no one said a word. 

 

Is the batter in fact "OUT" as I stated?  If not, what am I missing/misunderstanding?  If it's a "FOUL" ball and the batter isn't out, do runners have a chance to advance? 

 

Thought I understood all of this, but it seems I do not.  Any answers including any rule numbers would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Thanks!

[blue23ll]

There must be something more to this story. A ball caught in the air is an out, I suspect even in ASA.  Maybe the fielder was in an 'out of play' area when they caught the ball?

[Guest Billy]

Thank you for the response.  I asked if there were any special ground rules for the field(s) and I was told, no, no special ground rules.  The fielders were absolutely in foul territory and they were not out of play.

The out of play areas were clearly marked.  In the scenario where the ball went past 3rd Base (airborne) and was caught by the fielder, the ball was called "foul" by the plate umpire.  No coaches complained, no batters complained, the scorekeeper said nothing -- I think I was the only one who sat there in silence pondering what I had just seen.

 

To be clear:  A batted fall that is in flight, as long as it is not in out-of-play territory may be caught by the defense to put the batter "out." 

 

 

[th3]

there MUST be something more to the story...

[Guest Billy]

If there were anything to the story that I could add, I would.  I asked around for special game rules, field rules, league rules, State rules, etc.  Nothing.  No one seemed to be the least bit concerned.

I did the "I'm in the minority so I won't speak up" sociological thing, I didn't press the issue with anyone else in the stands/scorekeeper.

 

Just to make sure I'm not losing my mind:  In all scenarios I described, the batter is in fact "OUT" -- correct?

 

 

[btw]

In all scenarios as described, in both ASA and FED rules, the batter would be out. I could see it being called foul in situations 2 and 3 if the ball made contact with a fence or other out of play area before being caught, but otherwise I have no idea what could have happened there.

[Rich Ives]

Sure they weren't choppers?

[ZebraStripes]

before a tournament I did earlier this year I wouldn't have thought to ask this, is there a tree hanging over the field?

[bluejerred]

I watched a few games in the past weeks at both Federation/ASA and I saw completely different rulings.  I thought I understood the rules, but my brain seems to not be working.

 

Scenario #1:

B1 hits a pop fly that is between home and third.  Fielder F5 runs to catch the pop fly.  The fielder is in FOUL territory, catches the ball.  Batter is ruled OUT.

 

 

Scenario #2: 

 

(Same game)

 

B1 hits a pop fly that goes beyond third base.  Ball is in foul territory (still airborne).  Fielder F7 enters foul territory to catch the fly.  Ball is ruled FOUL, batter is not out.

 

 

Scenario #3: 

 

(Different game)

 

Same as Scenario #1, but ball is ruled "FOUL."  Umpire rings up a strike.

 

Scenario #4:

 

(Yet another game)

 

Same as Scenario #2, but batter is called "OUT"

 

 

 

I'm going through the rulebooks to find specific situations to answer these scenarios but I'm lost.  My brain tells me: If the ball is in the air and not in "out of play" territory, it's a playable ball

and, if the pop fly is caught *regardless of being between home and third or past third (or past first)* it's an "OUT"   Yet, in all of these scenarios and the rulings I saw, no one complained, no one said a word. 

 

Is the batter in fact "OUT" as I stated?  If not, what am I missing/misunderstanding?  If it's a "FOUL" ball and the batter isn't out, do runners have a chance to advance? 

 

Thought I understood all of this, but it seems I do not.  Any answers including any rule numbers would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Thanks!

 

The following answers are assuming that the ball did not strike the backstop, fence, etc. prior to being caught.

 

For all scenarios:

 

If caught, batter is out and ball is live.  If touched and dropped in foul territory, ball is foul.

 

You understand just fine.  The only thing I could see causing a foul ball to be called is if the ball touches a fence, backstop, etc. prior to being caught.  Other than this, maybe you were just in the twilight zone or something.