Outfield misread of fly ball

Question
A ball is hit to the left fielder and goes over her head. When the ball was hit the left fielder had taken a step or two in before going back on the ball. Is that considered an error?
Would it matter whether the ball could have, or couldn't have, been caught even if they didn't step in?
This was scored as a single and a two base error since the batter reached third.  

Answer
Gary -

Thanks for the question.  Its always interesting when talking about "scoring" plays in baseball.  Its one of the only sports where opinion comes into the equation.  Every team has an official scorer, and it is his responsibility to judge each play.  In this case you have brought up, the scorer felt that even if he wouldnt have taken the step, it still might have dropped.  However, the initial step took the player out of position bad enough that any reasonable player couldve fielded the ball after it hit and held the runner to a single.  That is where the 2 base error comes into the judgement.  But like you have noticed, it isnt a science.  The same play, the same situation, and a different scorer might have just ruled that a 3 base error, not a single and a 2 base error.

So basically, every play that has to be judged is an opinion, not a fact.  You will notice, now that you have this info, that some players' fielding % actually gets HURT by this.  Because a lot of the opinion is based on whether or not the player got to or could have gotten to the ball in the first place.  SO a good player with great range, might reach a ball that a different player couldnt, but because it was such a hard play, doesnt field it cleanly, and gets charged with an error.  The next guy couldnt even reach the ball, and it gets through, and its judged a hit.  Omar Visquel is a great example of that every year.  

Always keep in mind that when scoring, ones persons error is the next persons stat saver.  Even on the same team.  Take your situation  again.. IF that had been ruled an error to start, the pitcher isnt responsible for that runner in his stats.  But because it was ruled a hit, that goes against the pitcher's stats. So that is something to watch as well.  Some of the bigger named pitchers get scoring breaks in the field, where some of the others do not.  Like I said, its a judgement, and with any judgement, the HUMAN ELEMENT come into play.  Playing "favorites" is common, and effects scoring a baseball game big time.  

Hope that helps!

Best wishes

Coach Perl