A little help please

[Greenmonsters]

Are you arguing the "original position". A bit semantic don't you think. Would that be the catchers bag? Or the Box the mitt was In When it was under the Xmas tree. Or maybe Dicks sporting goods. How about the Rawlings factory?

Good question, but those are Comp's words, not mine. Maybe he can clarify!

 

[Comp]

Seriously people, as has been noted by someone a ball traveling at 50 mph takes less than .04 seconds to travel 3' from the plate to the catchers glove. Do you really think a human with an average reaction time of .2 seconds could react fast enough to catch a ball that has been tipped by the bat anywhere but directly to where the glove was positioned to catch the ball had it not been hit by the bat?

If the ball is tipped and the catcher has to move to catch the ball has it moved "sharply and directly" to the catchers glove?

 

[Umpire]

Seriously people, as has been noted by someone a ball traveling at 50 mph takes less than .04 seconds to travel 3' from the plate to the catchers glove. Do you really think a human with an average reaction time of .2 seconds could react fast enough to catch a ball that has been tipped by the bat anywhere but directly to where the glove was positioned to catch the ball had it not been hit by the bat?

If the ball is tipped and the catcher has to move to catch the ball has it moved "sharply and directly" to the catchers glove?

Is it your intent (dare I use that word) to change the definition of "directly" or do you just not know what it means in the first place? "Directly" means on a straight line or uninterrupted or without changing course or stopping.

 

[Comp]

Is it your intent (dare I use that word) to change the definition of "directly" or do you just not know what it means in the first place? "Directly" means on a straight line or uninterrupted or without changing course or stopping.

How am I attempting to change the definition of directly? If the ball changes direction off the bat and the catcher has to move to catch the ball is that direct to the glove? If the ball changes direction off the bat and the catcher has time to react to the change in direction and move to catch the ball, is that sharply?

 

[BretMan]

Speaking of "changing the definition of directly"...

"Direct" has been defined as not contacting anything between the bat and the glove/hand(s).

"Directly" means on a straight line or uninterrupted or without changing course or stopping.

Two different definitions for the same word?

 

[SoCal_Dad]

FWIW Your reaction time analogy is flawed. Compare sprinter's reaction times to drag racers, there's a real difference as the sprinters don't have the advantage of anticipating the gun. Drag racers aren't relevant because they aren't reacting to the green light. They've trained to time their action to the amber lights and the good ones also factor in the vehicle's reaction time.

A catcher is even less burdened because they aren't restricted to any specific starting time or fixed location and are already in motion moving the glove in response to the trajectory. However, I don't disagree that the reaction time is super-human and that a catcher doesn't have the time to see and react to a foul tip and that caught foul tips are principally a function of dumb luck. My personal experience was that there were more than a handfull of times where I instinctually continued moving my glove past the original interception point and caught a foul tip.

I suspect your 'instinct' was based on the ball trajectory and bat path, which allowed you to anticipate the tip. Good stuff!

 

[Umpire]

Speaking of "changing the definition of directly"...





Two different definitions for the same word?

Umm, no. One is the interpretation as applied to the rule. One is out of the dictionary. Neither one is being applied by some of the rules experts.

 

[Umpire]

How am I attempting to change the definition of directly? If the ball changes direction off the bat and the catcher has to move to catch the ball is that direct to the glove? If the ball changes direction off the bat and the catcher has time to react to the change in direction and move to catch the ball, is that sharply?

For goodness sake, the BALL isn't changing direction. The GLOVE is moving.

 

[Comp]

Umm, no. One is the interpretation as applied to the rule. One is out of the dictionary. Neither one is being applied by some of the rules experts.

Where is this interpretation from? I have never seen it in writing or presented in any rules clinics.

 

[MTR]

It is "sharply" and "directly", not "or". It is something it is to be deserved and can probably cause confusion when trying to define it to meet the rule.

These have been requirements for a foul tip for at least 78 years that I can document. The only difference is that the wording was changed to adverbs. It used to be "sharp and direct" to the hands and legally caught. Direct, in this case, means an uninterrupted path from the bat to the catcher's hands (and yes, that includes the glove/mitt on the hand). Sharp is quick.

Comp is correct.