When did the rule change for a foul tip straight into the catchers glove being out?

Only for strike 3, and I don't know when

quote:

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Only for strike 3, and I don't know when

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It's been this as long as I've been playing/following baseball.

Is high school the same?

always been that way at all levels except t-ball

A foul tip remains a live ball...runners can steal

only if it is a caught third strike

A caught foul tip is always live, no mater the count.

true

technically a ball is only a "foul tip" if it is caught, and always treated like a regular swinging strike.

[This message has been edited by TexasRebel (edited 6/19/2013 10:33p).]

When does it go from being a foul tip/swinging strike to a caught foul ball?

Is there a rule of thumb for how much change in direction it needs?

For instance, on a first pitch, if the batter pops it up and the catcher makes the catch, he is out. If he hits it straight back, it is a strike.

If for some reason he gets just enough to move the ball, but the catcher can still get ahold of it... strike or out?

"sharp and direct from the bat to the catcher’s hands"

[This message has been edited by coconutED (edited 6/20/2013 8:56a).]

The rule of thumb I've always heard was always the catchers head. If it gets above his head and he catches it you're out. Not in the books, but it's the rule of thumb I've always seen used.

On a related note, have y'all read Jayson Stark's article about how little most people know about the rules of baseball? http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9389802/how-well-do-know-baseball-rules-take-our-quiz.

Pretty interesting read and pretty tough quiz.

I'm taking that quiz now and already have issue with it...


question number one... is it intentionally worded to be tricky? Getting hit by a batted ball in fair territory is not the same as interfering with the defender. They are two different rules.

and don't forget those are MLB rules.

> > how little most people know about the rules of baseball<<

That applies to any sport.

If you want to learn the rules of any sport, go to the source: the rule books. High school rules are not freely available, but if you look hard enough, you can find a PDF version online somewhere. It might be a year or two old, but the rule changes are all freely available. NFL and NBA rules are similar: you can find a version if you look for it.

NCAA releases all their rule books online in PDF format. MOST high school (National Federation) and NCAA rules in a given sport are substantially similar, but that's not the case for the pro rules.

One key thing to remember: announcers do not know spit about the rules. Most sports fans get their rules knowledge from announcers and its largely incorrect. Every time Matt Millan does an NCAA football game, the O/U on him misstating rules is 3.

NCAA has all of there rule books available to be downloaded for free at http://ncaapublications.com/. Hover over the "Rule Books" tab in the middle of the banner at the top of the page and you can select which sport from there. You can either order a hard copy (most are around $5) or download it as a pdf for free.