Umpire Article

You Make the Call …

By Little League Operations Deparment

MYTH - “Half of the batter’s foot was outside the box when he/she hit the ball. He/she’s out.”

A batter is out when he/she makes contact with a pitch when his/her foot is ENTIRELY outside the lines of the batter’s box. He/she is out on either a fair or foul ball. The ball is dead. He/she is NOT out if he/she swings and misses or if he/she does not swing. See Rule 2.00 ILLEGALLY BATTED BALL and Rule 6.06(a).

MYTH - “The batted ball hit the plate first, that’s a foul ball.”

Home plate is positioned BETWEEN the first and third base foul lines; meaning it is in FAIR territory. Therefore, a ball that hits home plate and bounds into fair territory, or comes to rest upon it, is a fair ball. All bases are in fair territory, therefore any batted ball that touches a base is considered a fair ball, regardless of where it bounces after touching the base. See Rule 2.00 FAIR BALL and FAIR TERRITORY.