About Cubs LF Matt Shaw's Fair Infield Single in San Diego

[Lindsay]

What is a fair ball? Cubs batter Matt Shaw hit an infield single in San Diego when Padres 3B Ty France picked up a batted ball as it rolled along the foul line, HP Umpire Dan Merzel explaining to manager Craig Stammen what he saw as Padres fans expressed outrage at the call.

So what happened?

This play comes up every few years, so we refer to the 2023 season's case of a fair infield single in New York, when HP Umpire Lance Barrett ruled Royals batter Bobby Witt Jr's bunt a fair ball after Yankees 3B DJ LeMahieu swiped his glove at the ball in fair territory.

Related Post: Why Was This Ball Called Fair in New York? (7/23/23).

To begin, we review the Official Baseball Rules' definition: "A FAIR BALL is a batted ball that settles on fair ground between home and first base, or between home and third base, or that is on or over fair territory when bounding to the outfield past first or third base, or that touches first, second or third base, or that first falls on fair territory on or beyond first base or third base, or that, while on or over fair territory touches the person of an umpire or player, or that, while over fair territory, passes out of the playing field in flight."

There are two main standards for judging fair/foul: situations that consider whether a ball is on fair territory and situations that consider whether a ball is over fair territory.

A ball must be on fair territory to be considered fair in the case of: a batted ball settling between home and first/third base or first falling on fair territory beyond first/third base (e.g., in the outfield).

A ball must be over fair territory to be considered fair (whether or not it also touches [or is on] fair territory) for: a batted ball bounding to the outfield past first/third base, a batted ball that touches an umpire or player, or passes out of the playing field in flight (home run).

And, finally, a batted ball that touches first/second/third base is a fair ball.

Eagle-eyed viewers might also notice the rulebook's definition of foul ball is extremely similar, just substituting the phrase "foul territory" for "fair territory."

Thus we must also consider the following definitions: "FAIR TERRITORY is that part of the playing field within, and including the first base and third base lines, from home base to the bottom of the playing field fence and perpendicularly upwards. All foul lines are in fair territory"; "FOUL TERRITORY is that part of the playing field outside the first and third base lines extended to the fence and perpendicularly upwards."

Finally, the MLB Umpire Manual interprets FAIR BALL as, "When in contact with the ground, a ball must be in contact with fair territory and not merely over fair territory in order to be adjudged to be fair."

MLBUM added this interpretation following the introduction of Replay Review ahead of the 2014 season, and it works well for outfield fair/foul decisions on reviewable plays in which the ball may or may not fall on the foul line, generally observed from a parallax-prone camera angle.

For the infield fair/foul decision regarding a batted ball that contacts a person, however, a few key differences arise. First, this is the infield not the outfield. Second, this is not presently a reviewable play. Third, the rulebook criteria for this infield play remains on or over fair territory, as opposed to the outfield play's on foul territory criterion. Fourth, the umpire's angle in calling this play generally positions their head above the foul line, not entirely "top-down" but at an angle greater than 45-degrees and, thus, closer to top-down than ground level.

And herein lies the problem: The umpire, looking from above the height of the ball (unless they were to place their head directly on the dirt), generally will see a baseball over fair territory, all else equal, if any part of the baseball is over the foul line, even if the baseball itself is not in contact with the line (it's a sphere, after all). Pursuant to the Official Baseball Rules, the umpire calls this a fair ball when touched by the fielder, which conflicts with the MLBUM interpretation, which itself conflicts with OBR. Lovely.

Video as follows:
Alternate Link: Padres thought a batted ball rolled foul, but Umpire Merzel called it fair

View the full article

[Velho]

Multiple reports dating back to yesterday that MLB has said this was improperly called fair.

 

Text of tweets posted so folks don't have to click through:

From an Athletic writer that covers the Padres https://x.com/dennistlin/status/2049238663981154614

"When contacted about last night's controversial fair/foul call, an MLB spokesperson pointed to the definition of a fair ball in the league's umpire manual: "When in contact with the ground, a ball must be in contact with fair territory ... to be fair."

 

From a Fox Sports MLB Analyst https://x.com/BenVerlander/status/2049218851267908050

OFFICIAL RULING FROM MLB I reached out to MLB since there is a lot of confusion regarding this play: “In our Umpire Manual, here is the definition of a fair ball:   FAIR BALL Definitions of Terms: When in contact with the ground, a ball must be in contact with fair territory and not merely over fair territory in order to be adjudged to be fair.” MLB acknowledged an error was made.

 

From a professional Scorekeeper (MiLB I think, he's anonymous) https://x.com/ScoringChanges/status/2049584992486109499

OK, follow along, because I have answers. Bottom line. This is NOW a foul ball. I talked with the same person @BenVerlander did and the same person @dennistlin talked with, and here is how I can best explain this, and I’ll put this so it makes sense to the scoring followers. What is in the rulebook is unclear, because it can absolutely be interpreted the way that I, and many, many folks have interpreted it, that the ball touching the ground is a foul ball is in the section about a fair fly ball, so it applies to balls that are hit on a fly past the bases. I wasn’t wrong about that. However, many times folks here have heard me say that the Official Scorer’s Manual goes into greater detail on something (error, or earned/unearned run, etc.). As was explained to me, the Umpire’s Manual goes into greater detail on this exact play, new detail for this year, that stresses that this is a foul ball. Now, if it’s moving and touched, that can be interpreted different from what I understand, but as of this year, the ball in the @padres game should have been ruled foul (life would have been easier if France doesn’t touch it). I was given kudos for knowing the Mets/Pirates play from 2021 and the Yankees/Royals play from 2023, and those plays were both ruled fair at the time, but if those plays happened in 2026, they would be foul. Likewise, Monday’s play in 2021 or 2023 is fair. It is known that this needs cleared up better in the OBR for 2027 to avoid this. It also was explained that the rule needed tweaked and put into the Umpire’s Manual in greater detail due to replay advances, basically because of the issues that parallax can cause. So yes, it should have been ruled foul from what I have been told, but everything I said made sense because before this was put into the 2026 Umpire’s Manual, it was fair. Everyone that was wrong was wrong because of past precedent and actual info that wasn’t clear. The rule is written where it can be interpreted either way, and I’m satisfied with that. I feel WAY better hearing it for myself out of my meeting with those folks. The best part of this is NOW WE KNOW. Now let’s get some changes and educate!

[The Man in Blue]

EVERY time I watch the sequence of events, it makes me laugh out loud.

 

I NEED A GIF!

[jimurrayalterego]

1 hour ago, Velho said:

Multiple reports dating back to yesterday that MLB has said this was improperly called fair.

 

Text of tweets posted so folks don't have to click through:

From an Athletic writer that covers the Padres https://x.com/dennistlin/status/2049238663981154614

"When contacted about last night's controversial fair/foul call, an MLB spokesperson pointed to the definition of a fair ball in the league's umpire manual: "When in contact with the ground, a ball must be in contact with fair territory ... to be fair."

 

From a Fox Sports MLB Analyst https://x.com/BenVerlander/status/2049218851267908050

OFFICIAL RULING FROM MLB I reached out to MLB since there is a lot of confusion regarding this play: “In our Umpire Manual, here is the definition of a fair ball:   FAIR BALL Definitions of Terms: When in contact with the ground, a ball must be in contact with fair territory and not merely over fair territory in order to be adjudged to be fair.” MLB acknowledged an error was made.

 

From a professional Scorekeeper (MiLB I think, he's anonymous) https://x.com/ScoringChanges/status/2049584992486109499

OK, follow along, because I have answers. Bottom line. This is NOW a foul ball. I talked with the same person @BenVerlander did and the same person @dennistlin talked with, and here is how I can best explain this, and I’ll put this so it makes sense to the scoring followers. What is in the rulebook is unclear, because it can absolutely be interpreted the way that I, and many, many folks have interpreted it, that the ball touching the ground is a foul ball is in the section about a fair fly ball, so it applies to balls that are hit on a fly past the bases. I wasn’t wrong about that. However, many times folks here have heard me say that the Official Scorer’s Manual goes into greater detail on something (error, or earned/unearned run, etc.). As was explained to me, the Umpire’s Manual goes into greater detail on this exact play, new detail for this year, that stresses that this is a foul ball. Now, if it’s moving and touched, that can be interpreted different from what I understand, but as of this year, the ball in the @padres game should have been ruled foul (life would have been easier if France doesn’t touch it). I was given kudos for knowing the Mets/Pirates play from 2021 and the Yankees/Royals play from 2023, and those plays were both ruled fair at the time, but if those plays happened in 2026, they would be foul. Likewise, Monday’s play in 2021 or 2023 is fair. It is known that this needs cleared up better in the OBR for 2027 to avoid this. It also was explained that the rule needed tweaked and put into the Umpire’s Manual in greater detail due to replay advances, basically because of the issues that parallax can cause. So yes, it should have been ruled foul from what I have been told, but everything I said made sense because before this was put into the 2026 Umpire’s Manual, it was fair. Everyone that was wrong was wrong because of past precedent and actual info that wasn’t clear. The rule is written where it can be interpreted either way, and I’m satisfied with that. I feel WAY better hearing it for myself out of my meeting with those folks. The best part of this is NOW WE KNOW. Now let’s get some changes and educate!

And why didn't they let us, their umpires, and the fanboys know that this was improperly called Fair in 2023 and some others plays in the past:

I suspect the guy in charge of communicating this stuff doesn't have a clue and has no officiating history in spite of being in that position. I have a vague memory of him clarifying a play where he did not make any sense in the past.

[BLWizzRanger]

I always thought of this as if the ball was 2 inches away from the bag, over fair territory, but only touching foul territory, the ball would be a fair ball when it touches the bag.  

[Velho]

18 minutes ago, BLWizzRanger said:

I always thought of this as if the ball was 2 inches away from the bag, over fair territory, but only touching foul territory, the ball would be a fair ball when it touches the bag.  

I follow but that's not need since the definition explicitly states a batted ball touching a base is fair

(including 2B - that's some forward thinking!)

[dumbdumb]

watch the whole video. nice in home visuals. just like a pitch. it is not from where the middle of the ball makes an imprint/dot on the ground. ball is spherical and should be called a strike if a pitch on either side of the plate just like ABS is showing. same with the ball here on the ground with the line being the edge of the plate, and the angle you get (parallax). now if the wording is different in OBS than in the casebook MLBU manual, they need to fix the wording to match. whats new.

 

[beerguy55]

The biggest mistake here was the fielder's, not the umpire's.    He had no reason to touch the ball, let alone grab it and quickly move it foul, which only served to make it look like it was fair.

The ball was stopped...B/R wasn't going anywhere...he could easily have just kept an eye on the BR while he let the umpire make the call unimpeded.  

Hell...the umpire could have called time, brought the entire crew over, examined the ball and made the right call.

F5 made any chance of the umpire making the call he wanted impossible.

 

 

In this context, we need to understand if the umpire judged the ball was touching the line...or misapplied the rule.  If the latter, the crew could have had that conversation to WHY the ump called fair.

As far as video replay review, my understanding is (and it would be a gap IMO) an unreviewable play (as this is) cannot be reviewed even if it's to clarify the rules.

 

To the other debate - I think the MLBUM interpretation is a clarification, not a contradiction:

A FAIR BALL is a batted ball that settles on fair ground...

FAIR TERRITORY is that part of the playing field within, and including the first base and third base lines...

A FOUL BALL is a batted ball that settles on foul territory...

FOUL TERRITORY is that part of the playing field outside the first and third base lines...

 

The MLBUM interpretation simply clarifies what "settling" means, as to the standard of touching the ground, and differentiates it from "over" for bounding balls....and fills the gap between settling and bounding (ie. rolling).

If you want to argue that it contradicts between rolling and bounding standards, you're preaching to the choir.

Without the "official" interpretation, this can be interpreted both ways, and is equally defensible...it's just not quite as bad as all bounding balls that pass third while over both fair and foul territory, which literally are both fair and foul.

A FAIR BALL is a batted ball that...is on or over fair territory when bounding to the outfield past first or third base

A FOUL BALL is a batted ball that...bounds past first or third base on or over foul territory

 

[Velho]

2 hours ago, beerguy55 said:

The MLBUM interpretation simply clarifies what "settling" means, as to the standard of touching the ground, and differentiates it from "over" for bounding balls....and fills the gap between settling and bounding (ie. rolling).

You may have seen something I haven't (I haven't seen a quote from the latest MLBUM) but the 2019 MLBUM doesn't address "settling". In full it says:

80. FAIR BALL Definitions of Terms: When in contact with the ground, a ball must be in contact with fair territory and not merely over fair territory in order to be adjudged to be fair.

[Velho]

It's funny, I've had this settles vs touched over fair territory conflict top of mind to bring here for a discussion but I felt it  too pedantic to debate "what if it settles before it is touched?" (and especially if never touched as @beerguy55 advised).

The "settles on fair/foul territory" vs "on or over fair/foul territory touches the person" language has been there for a period of time and the implementation has been "over fair territory" for prior to 1B or 3B infield - as voiced by Lindsay.

The added language this year (below underlined) seemed to me meant for fly ball initial bounce and then go to foul territory untouched (which would primarily be beyond 1B & 3B - and to clarify that distinction).

Along with the NCAA Protest, I'm holding my breath for clarification. I rarely bother the pro umpires I know but am considering it on this one.

 

Definitions for completeness. Emphases mine.

A FAIR BALL is a batted ball that settles on fair ground between home and first base, or between home and third base, or that is on or over fair territory when bounding to the outfield past first or third base, or that touches first, second or third base, or that first falls on fair territory on or beyond first base or third base, or that, while on or over fair territory touches the person of an umpire or player, or that, while over fair territory, passes out of the playing field in flight.

A fair fly shall be judged according to the relative position of the ball and the foul line, including the foul pole, and not as to whether the fielder is on fair or foul territory at the time he touches the ball. When in contact with the ground, a ball must be in contact with fair territory and not merely over fair territory in order to be adjudged to be fair.

 

A FOUL BALL is a batted ball that settles on foul territory between home and first base, or between home and third base, or that bounds past first or third base on or over foul territory, or that first falls on foul territory beyond first or third base, or that, while on or over foul territory, touches the person of an umpire or player, or any object foreign to the natural ground.

A foul fly shall be judged according to the relative position of the ball and the foul line, including the foul pole, and not as to whether the infielder is on foul or fair territory at the time he touches the ball.

[Richvee]

17 minutes ago, Velho said:

but the 2019 MLBUM doesn't address "settling"

But the rule book does

A FAIR BALL is a batted ball that settles on fair ground between home and first base, or between home and third base, or that is on or over fair territory when bounding to the outfield past first or third base.

I have it on good authority, this means if a ball has stopped between the bag and home, it needs to be touching fair, (I was not aware of that until today). The "On or over" part is only for ball bounding past the bag into the outfield. 

The real confusion, (and there is not a clear interp for) is on a ball that is rolling between home and the bag when touched. Or bouncing between home and the bag when touched. This is where the confusion lies, and needs to be cleard up. 

[Velho]

19 hours ago, Richvee said:

But the rule book does

The rulebook says every which way. Do we apply in order of presentation? Day game or night game? Reading of the chicken bones?

 

19 hours ago, Richvee said:

(I was not aware of that until today)

Me neither, and almost no one else (again, as evidenced by Lindsay).

I follow the conundrum but, regardless of the language, feel like we've all agreed on it one way for however long and the change is both weird (why change it?) and ambiguously communicated.

If this a real change, it makes NFHS handing the RLI change looks pristine.

[beerguy55]

3 hours ago, Velho said:

You may have seen something I haven't (I haven't seen a quote from the latest MLBUM) but the 2019 MLBUM doesn't address "settling". In full it says:

80. FAIR BALL Definitions of Terms: When in contact with the ground, a ball must be in contact with fair territory and not merely over fair territory in order to be adjudged to be fair.

Until you demonstrate a battled ball that stops in the air and remains in stasis, a ball that is settled is in contact with the ground.

The interpretation clarifies the requirements for a fair ball when the ball is either settled or rolling. (ie. touching the ground)

2 hours ago, Richvee said:

The real confusion, (and there is not a clear interp for) is on a ball that is rolling between home and the bag when touched. Or bouncing between home and the bag when touched. This is where the confusion lies, and needs to be cleard up. 

Not really confusion...if the ball is touching the ground it needs to be touching fair to be fair.  If it's bounding it need only be over fair to be fair.  Contradiction yes, but not confusing.  Contradiction isn't even the right word - just different standards for when the ball is on the ground vs in the air.

The real problem is a bounding ball while it is in the air - whether when it passes the bag or is touched by the fielder - that is over both fair and foul at same time, is both fair and foul.  I suppose the great part about that is the umpire can never be wrong.

If nothing else, the "touching the ground" interpretation at least removes Schrodinger's Batted Ball for that scenario.

[Velho]

11 minutes ago, beerguy55 said:

Not really confusion...

Except this week is the first time it's ever been called that way.

EDIT: First time it's ever been floated it should be called this way since it wasn't called this way on the play in question.

11 minutes ago, beerguy55 said:

The real problem is a bounding ball while it is in the air - whether when it passes the bag or is touched by the fielder - that is over both fair and foul at same time, is both fair and foul. 

And has been called Fair for the rememberable past.

[Velho]

1 hour ago, beerguy55 said:

Not really confusion...if the ball is touching the ground it needs to be touching fair to be fair. 

Also,  the rule still says it's fair "while on or over fair territory touches the person of an umpire or player". That doesn't disappear for newly added contradicting language (not to mention that new language was added to a paragraph about fly balls).

[The Man in Blue]

4 hours ago, Velho said:

Also,  the rule still says it's fair "while on or over fair territory touches the person of an umpire or player". That doesn't disappear for newly added contradicting language (not to mention that new language was added to a paragraph about fly balls).

 

IMO, that is the clause that was invoked and is being missed in most conversations.

So here is the issue with the confusing, never bothered to clean it up, language of the rulebook:

That ball, if it is stopped, is foul . . . UNTIL somebody has to pick it up and it hasn't been ruled foul, then it becomes fair.  Had F5 waited for a foul call, it would have been foul.  By snatching it first, he made it fair.

 @BLWizzRanger's base example is similar.  If it doesn't make it to the base, it is foul.  That same ball position (in relation to the line) that makes it to the base and hits the base, becomes fair.

[Velho]

1 minute ago, The Man in Blue said:

That ball, if it is stopped, is foul . . . UNTIL somebody has to pick it up and it hasn't been ruled foul, then it becomes fair. 

Unless you read the rulebook back to front because you'll have found this which makes it foul "while on or over foul territory, touches the person of an umpire or player, or any object foreign to the natural ground." 😉

[The Man in Blue]

I searched "over fair" based on the conversation.  I did not search "over foul" . . . until now.  

[beerguy55]

On 4/30/2026 at 9:20 PM, The Man in Blue said:

 

IMO, that is the clause that was invoked and is being missed in most conversations.

So here is the issue with the confusing, never bothered to clean it up, language of the rulebook:

That ball, if it is stopped, is foul . . . UNTIL somebody has to pick it up and it hasn't been ruled foul, then it becomes fair.  Had F5 waited for a foul call, it would have been foul.  By snatching it first, he made it fair.

 @BLWizzRanger's base example is similar.  If it doesn't make it to the base, it is foul.  That same ball position (in relation to the line) that makes it to the base and hits the base, becomes fair.

 

On 4/30/2026 at 9:23 PM, Velho said:

Unless you read the rulebook back to front because you'll have found this which makes it foul "while on or over foul territory, touches the person of an umpire or player, or any object foreign to the natural ground." 😉

But what about these?

A FAIR BALL is a batted ball that settles on fair ground between home and first base

A FOUL BALL is a batted ball that settles on foul territory between home and first base,

I know of no umpire that refuses to make a fair/foul call on a ball that has settled (ie. not moving) until someone touches it...you really waiting ten minutes for a stiff breeze??

IMO - the fielder grabbing and moving the ball quickly eliminated the ability of the umpire to see the ball's clear location, and he simply equated it to a catcher moving the mitt 15 inches to frame a pitch...eg. it must have been a ball if he moved it that far...it must have been fair if he felt the need to move the ball after he grabbed it.

 

FAIR TERRITORY is that part of the playing field within, and including the first base and third base lines...

FOUL TERRITORY is that part of the playing field outside the first and third base lines...

[Velho]

1 hour ago, beerguy55 said:

But what about these?

A FAIR BALL is a batted ball that settles on fair ground between home and first base

A FOUL BALL is a batted ball that settles on foul territory between home and first base,

It does say that as well as on over over when touched. The definitions are contradictory within themselves and across Fair & Foul. 

 

1 hour ago, beerguy55 said:

I know of no umpire that refuses to make a fair/foul call on a ball that has settled (ie. not moving) until someone touches it...you really waiting ten minutes for a stiff breeze??

1 hour ago, beerguy55 said:

IMO - the fielder grabbing and moving the ball quickly eliminated the ability of the umpire to see the ball's clear location, and he simply equated it to a catcher moving the mitt 15 inches to frame a pitch...eg. it must have been a ball if he moved it that far...it must have been fair if he felt the need to move the ball after he grabbed it.

I can follow that. IMO, especially based on his crouch, I have high confidence he saw it on foul ground and over fair ground (we can debate whether he saw it as 'settled').

Regardless, even if settled, as Lyndsey stated, a ball judged to be on foul and over fair is (and has been called) a fair ball for the rememberable past. And we're still waiting for it to be called Foul - though we're being told by unnamed MLB authorities that it should be called Foul.

 

[Velho]

@beerguy55 genuine question: prior to this, did you expect or have you seen an untouched ball settled on foul territory and over fair territory to be called foul ?

[beerguy55]

2 hours ago, Velho said:

@beerguy55 genuine question: prior to this, did you expect or have you seen an untouched ball settled on foul territory and over fair territory to be called foul ?

Prior to this interpretation I expected a ball that was on/over fair territory, from touching the ground to the upper layers of the stratosphere, to be fair.

The interpretation, in at least trying to create a boundary, is just one more example of the interpreters outsmarting themselves...and I think I said that exact thing when the interpretation first became public on this site a few years back.

It's dumb because if you have that ball that is touching foul, but over the line (ie. fair territory), they want to rule it foul...but if you roll it parallel to the foul line towards the outfield, it will not be able to reach the outfield without touching the base, making it fair.

I've also said many times on this board how easy it would be to correct the definitions of fair and foul so that balls aren't both fair and foul at the same time, and exactly how I would do it (regardless of how they are called in reality...a fundamentalist's brain would melt if they tried to call fair/foul by the book)

 

[Velho]

Just now, beerguy55 said:

I think I said that exact thing when the interpretation first became public on this site a few years back.

Ah, ok. I missed that.

I know we had ball first landing beyond 1B/3B on foul territory was foul set/clarified but this is first I recall hearing anything like that before 1B/3B.

[The Man in Blue]

The problem, which has been called out, is that the rulebook actually says different and conflicting things.  You can read any single passage and get what you believe is an answer, but when you dig deeper and look at all relevant sections, you cannot come to an answer without going through a Monty Python sketch.

[BLWizzRanger]

Whats the difference between a ball rolling along a base line 2 inches in foul territory and over fair ground and one hit down a base line in the air, past first or third base, and landing 2 inches in foul territory? The one hit past the bases will be considered a fair ball due to the fact that when the ball hits the ground (dirt, turf, or grass), the impact down on the ground will allow the ball to touch the line although rolling at that same spot, the dirt, turf or grass will keep the ball aloft over the line. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I am surprised no one suggested that an AFF (Automatic Fair/Foul) system be developed.