Baseball Buffs: I have a rule question for you guys...

[battleknight24]

This might seem like a dumb question...

Lets say a batter has 2 strikes, and on the next pitch, the batter gets a foul tip... he just barely knicks the ball and the ball goes sharp and directly into the catcher's mitt. This would be strike three, right? Is the batter out or does he need to be tagged by the catcher? My cousin said that on strike three the batter needs to be tagged.

Also, the summer after my freshman year of high school, I played in a 13 to 15 year old baseball league. Our league had just two teams (I live in a TINY town), and the season was seven games long. In game seven, with the series tied 3-3, we were winning by one run in the bottom of the last inning. There was a runner on third with two outs and the batter had two strikes. The next pitch was a foul tip, which the catcher caught. The umpire called strike three and we won the series. The opposing crowd started yelling "he tipped it, he tipped it... " and proceeded to cuss out the umpire after the game.

What is the rule here? Did the umpire make the right call?


Peace,

[sniffa]

1. it's a strikeout if the catcher catches the tip

if he drops it, it's a fouL.
if you swing and miss, and the catcher drops it, he has to either tag you or throw to first to compLete the out.

[WeRQ4U]

2. Umpire Sniffa is spot on.

[tk2kewl]

3. what sniffa said

[sir_captain]

4. There's a little bit more

the catcher only has to tag/throw to first base if there are two outs or there are fewer than two outs and first base is *unoccupied*

[battleknight24]

5. But if he catches a foul tip, the runner does NOT have to be tagged...

It's a dumb question, but my cousin (is supposed to) know a lot about baseball and she said the batter has to be tagged.

[sniffa]

7. runner?

are you speaking of someone on base?

the batter does not have to be tagged, if a catcher does not drop a tipped baLL. if the catcher drops the tipped baLL, there is no chance at aLL to get the batter out untiL the next pitch.

[battleknight24]

8. I had always wondered why...

... the opposing parents/fans cussed out the umpire when he called a strike three on a foul tip (see the original post). I guess they were just acting like *ssholes because their kids lost the big game...


Peace,

[Call me Deacon Blues]

6. Yup, Sniffa is correct.

He's out.

"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base." -- Dave Barry

[kodi]

9. ah yes, otherwise know as a "sophie's choice."

.