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Q. Gino, We have runners on 1st and 2nd with no
outs. Batter hits a little pop fly in front of the
3rd baseman. The umpire calls infield fly batter is
out. The 3rd baseman lets the ball go and it lands
in fair territory but rolls into foul territory
before reaching 3rd base, without touching anyone.
My questions are, Can the runners still advance
even though it was a foul ball? Is the batter out
even though the ball ended up being a foul ball?
A.
This is a great question. The answer is
pretty simple. It is only an infield fly
rule and the batter is out is if the ball
stays fair or touches a defensive player in
fair territory. Most umpires will say "
Infield fly batter is out if fair", when the
fly ball is near foul territory. So in your
situation the batter is not out, because it
was an uncaught ball that ended up foul and
the runners cannot advance also because it
was an uncaught ball. My advice to the
defense here is to always catch the ball to
make 100 percent sure that you get the out.
Thanks, Keep those questions coming and I'll
see you in between the lines.
PS: Good luck to all in the state
tournaments.
Gino the Umpire
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