Foul tips & Sliding

Question
Hey Mark,

Once again let me first say thank you for your wonderful service and willingness to help. We have a league with a number of inexperienced umpires and your assistance is very valuable.

I have two questions,

1) In slow-pitch, if a ball is tipped foul on the first or second strike and the catcher catches it, how high does it have to go to be considered an out.

2) Under ASA slow-pitch rules, it is my understanding that the runner has to slide to avoid contact with the fielder when they are coming into the any bases. In our specific case, we had an inexperienced catcher running to the base with the ball trying to tag out the runner. Both the catcher and the runner arrived simultaneously resulting in a fairly hard collision. Fortunately no one was hurt, but isn抰 it the runner responsibility to slide in that situation to avoid such a collision.

Thanks for your help.

Phillip

Answer
Hi again Philip,

Nice to talk with you.

Starting this season, 2006, the reference of the 揾eight of the batter抯 head?has been removed from the rulebook from the Foul Ball and Foul Tip definitions. This allows more opportunity for the catcher to obtain 搊uts?by catching foul batted balls the same as the first and third base person who is playing in. Umpires now only need to judge whether the ball moves from the bat 搒harply?and 揹irectly?versus a ball that has a 損erceptible?arc and/or the catcher moves the glove to catch the ball after contact with the bat.

NOTE: Coaches, players and UMPIRES must now be even more alert to the fact that runners need to tag up on a batted foul ball that is caught. This increases the opportunity for more 搊uts?not only with the catcher catching the ball but the opportunity for more appeal plays with a runner leaving a base too soon on a caught fly ball. Remember the runner must wait until 揻irst touch?before breaking contact with a base on a caught fly ball, fair or foul. Runners may leave on the pitch in Fast Pitch and when the pitch reaches the plate in Slow Pitch with stealing, if the ball is judged to be a foul tip.

FOUL TIP - is a batted ball that goes sharply and directly from the bat to the catcher's glove/mitt or hand and is legally caught by the catcher. It is not a foul tip unless caught and any foul tip that is caught is a strike, and the ball remains live in Fast Pitch and Slow Pitch with stealing. It is not a catch if it rebounds off the catcher, unless the ball has first touched the catcher's glove or hand. A foul tip can only be caught by the catcher.

So A caught foul tip with 2 strikes is an out, otherwise it is just a strike.  A ball with a perceptible arc is a foul ball and if caught is an out.

Q#2  ASA has no "must slide" rule, it never has to my knowledge.  You cannot as a runner deliberately crash into a fielder who has the ball and is waiting to apply a tag.  You would be out by rule BUT if I read your question right that didn't happen here.  What you had here is a collision and that happens in softball. The runner has a right to a direct line to the base and the catcher has a right to try to tag the runner.  In your question, the catcher had not established position. There is no penalty for incidental contact although as you say it can be a fairly hard collision.

Mark