That isn't a catch, is it?

[DutchRobbie]

Put some umpires together, and inevitably (in the Netherlands it does, anyway) after a while

strange situations pop up. And ofcourse what the ruling should be on these plays.

Last weekend a play was described that none of the umpires present felt really sure about what to rule:

OBR, R3, 2 out, flyball to center.

F8 seems to make an easy catch, but instead of catching the ball in his glove,

he misses it and the ball dissapears into his uniform jersey.

He throws down his glove, searches for the ball inside his uniform and finally comes up with it.

We agreed it cannot be a catch, but: live ball? dead ball? what to do with R3 and B/R?

Can anyone help us out? And please cite rules and/or interpretation manuals, for we're lost.

Thanks in advance, Rob.

[ukce1861]

In FED, this is a immediate dead ball with a 2 base award. 8-3-3-c

Not sure on OBR, but I believe it's the same.

[UmpJM]

Robbie,

For OBR-based games, here is the Official Interpretation found in the Major League Baseball Umpire Manual (MLBUM).

8-21-03 @ WUA Site — When a live ball enters a player's uniform or the catcher's gear, the ball

is to be ruled dead and no subsequent outs can be obtained by the defense. The umpire is then

directed to employ common sense and fairness and place the runners such that the act of the ball

becoming dead is nullified. The umpire may not, however, enforce any outs that he thinks may

have occurred had the ball remained live. Outs occurring before the ball went out of play stand.

The quote is from the 2002 edition of the MLBUM. The 2009 edition has slightly different wording, but the ruling is identical in all material respects.

You are, of course, correct that this is NOT a catch - because the F8 used his uniform in gaining "secure possession" of the ball.

As described, I would likely award the batter-runner 2B in your sitch, and the R3 home.

JM

[DutchRobbie]

Ukce and JM,

Thanks for the fast and accurate replies.

Good to know that for (almost ?) every situation you can imagine a piece of ruling exists.

And of course that there are people who know the way in the many manuals there are!.

Regards, Rob,