Fielders Choice

[Guest Disgruntled Yayhoo]

Ok. Here's the scenario:

Runner on first, no outs. 2nd batter hits hard line drive up over SS, SS makes an excellent jump dive (beyond ordinary effort) at the ball and gets a glove on it, but drops ball. Eventually collects ball and throws to second base for force out. What do you score this? Is it a fielder's choice?

[noumpere]

From the rules book:

(b) The official scorer shall not credit a base hit when a:
(1) runner is forced out by a batted ball, or would have been
forced out except for a fielding error;

-and-

FIELDER’S CHOICE is the act of a fielder who handles a fair
grounder and, instead of throwing to first base to put out the batter-runner,
throws to another base in an attempt to put out a preceding runner.
The term is also used by scorers (a) to account for the advance of the batter-
runner who takes one or more extra bases when the fielder who handles
his safe hit attempts to put out a preceding runner; (b) to account for
the advance of a runner (other than by stolen base or error) while a
fielder is attempting to put out another runner; and (c) to account for the
advance of a runner made solely because of the defensive team’s indifference
(undefended steal).

[beerguy55]

4 hours ago, Guest Disgruntled Yayhoo said:

Ok. Here's the scenario:

Runner on first, no outs. 2nd batter hits hard line drive up over SS, SS makes an excellent jump dive (beyond ordinary effort) at the ball and gets a glove on it, but drops ball. Eventually collects ball and throws to second base for force out. What do you score this? Is it a fielder's choice?

I'll throw it back to you...what do you think it would be?

Since the batter (presumably) reached first safely there are only three scoring options to explain how/why he got there:

• Hit
• Error
• Fielder's Choice

Only one of them is defensible.