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Rule Review #1

A batter may attempt to advance to 1st on a dropped third strike. With luck he'll make it. But the odds are long. How many ways may he be put or declared out?

Answer:

Congratulations to Dr. Jeff Angel.He was the first person to respond with the correct answer. The batter may be put out in four different ways that are relevant to this play. He may be forced out by a throw from the catcher, or tagged out by a member of the defensive team. He may also by called out by the umpire for leaving the field or if 1st is occupied with less than 2 outs.

Scoring is unusual for this play. The catcher is usually charged with an error (Sorry, Woody) if the batter reaches 1st safely, so it would show in the book as an E-2. However, the pitcher is also credited with the strikeout. So it would be possible to have more than 3 strkeouts in a single inning.

Rule Review #2

How many ways can a batted ball going over the outfield fence be scored?

How many bases should the umpire award in each of these situations:

A: A batted ball strikes the top of the fence, rebounds into the playing field and off the fielder's glove, it then leaves the field over the fence in fair territory.

B: A batted ball bounces off the top of the outfield fence in fair territory and leaves the field.

C: A batted ball rebounds off a fielders glove and leaves the field over the fence in fair territory.

D: A batted ball rebounds off a fielders glove and leaves the field over the fence in foul territory.

Answer:

A: Double - A batted ball must leave the field of play in flight to be a home run. After the ball hits the fence it becomes a bounding ball.

B: Double - Same as above.

C: Home Run - The ball is still considered to be in flight and catchable after rebounding off a player's glove, or player for that matter.

D: Double - If the ball rebounds off a player or his equipment and leaves the field in foul territory the batter is awarded a double.

Rule Review #3

With a runner at 1st, there is a line shot to the 1st baseman. He traps the ball but the runner remains at 1st thinking the ball was caught in flight. What does the 1st baseman do now?

Congratulations to Pioneer Myles McDougal. Myles realized the tricky situation that the 1st baseman was in. If he acted reflexively, he might tag 1st. This would remove the force from the runner currently standing on 1st and result in only 1 out. By tagging the runner and then tagging the base he would score 2 force outs with the entire play occuring at 1st base.

Rule Review #4

With a runner at third, the batter swings and during the swing his bat strikes the catcher's mitt. He makes contact with the ball and it is a long fly ball to center field. The ball is caught on the fly, the runner at third tags up and scores. What should the umpire call?

Congratulations to Kellee Cook. Kellee knew that if the catcher interferes with the batter the batter is awarded 1st and the runner has to return to 3rd. However, She also knew that the offensive coach may decline the interference call. This would allow the runner from third to score, although the batter/runner would then be out.

Rule Review #5

There is a runner at third, with no outs in the 5th and the Home team at bat. The batter drives a shot right up the first base line. The 1st baseman dives for the ball but drives it foul. The pitcher covers first and successfully tags the bag but collides with the runner injuring the pitcher. In the interim, the runner at third runs home and scores. In the confusion, the scorekeeper fails to score the run and the game ends with the Home team losing by 1 run. After the game ends the coach appeals to the umpire. Does the umpire hear his appeal?

Thanks to Charity McDougal for her response.Charity felt that the umpire should hear the appeal, and in some organizations, like professional baseball they would. However, NFHS rules do not allow for appeals after a game ends. As far as High School ball is concerned, it's over when it's over.