Fair or foul
Question
In slow pitch, batter tips the ball when swinging, ball hits the plate, bounces and comes right back and stops on plate, hitting nothing else. Fair, foul or dead ball?b
Answer
Hi Rodney,
You know I get this question every now and then and I wish I knew the history of why it's commonly thought that this would be a foul ball.
Home plate like every other base on the field is in fair territory, all of it. The foul lines run to the back point of the plate. This would be a fair batted ball, the same as if a ball settled on 1st or 3rd base.
In fact the ball could hit foul, roll onto the plate and stop there, fair ball.
Mark
umpire rule question
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