Pitched ball.

[Tex]

Three fastpitched strikes to catcher (high school)
Batter taps the first 2 pitches with a short foul ball above the catcher's head, but not above the batter's head. Catcher caught both balls with very little movement. She never got out of her catcher's stance. I called a dead ball strike both times. The third pitched ball had the same results as the first two pitches. Since this was the third strike, I called the batter out. Was this the correct call?

 

[canyonjoe]

Three fastpitched strikes to catcher (high school)
Batter taps the first 2 pitches with a short foul ball above the catcher's head, but not above the batter's head. Catcher caught both balls with very little movement. She never got out of her catcher's stance. I called a dead ball strike both times. The third pitched ball had the same results as the first two pitches. Since this was the third strike, I called the batter out. Was this the correct call?

Correct on strike 3. On the other 2 if the ball has any arc to it it's an out, if it's straight bat to glove it's a foul tip so no out and runners can advance just like a swing and miss.

 

[daryls]

I agree.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[The Man In Blue]

I'm not 100% certain on what you are describing ...

I think @canyonjoe is on it, though I think your wording is a bit awkward.

A foul tip is a ball that is touched by the bat and goes "sharp and direct" to the catcher's mitt or hand (some codes have different standards that allow it to ricochet off the catcher into the mitt or hand) AND is caught by the catcher. That is a strike and remains a live ball. It is not a "dead ball strike" or a foul ball. This is signaled by brushing the back of your left hand with your right hand and then giving a strike signal.

Do not call this too quickly! If the catcher drops it or does not make the catch, you have a foul ball.

In order to rule this a "pop up" where you are going to let the catcher make a catch for the out, this is when the "perceptible arc" comes into play. Remember, an arc has an UP and a DOWN to it. The catcher making a catch over an arbitrary height line does not matter if the ball did not have an actual arc (not just an upward trajectory).

Bonus: You mention "a dead ball strike." A dead ball strike is a specific thing and only happens under three circumstances: a batter is hit by the pitch while swinging at it, a batter is leaning into the strike zone and is hit by a pitch there, the umpire calls a "delay of game" strike on the batter. (Now somebody will point out an instance or two that I am not thinking of.)

 

[Comp]

There is no "up and down" to an arc. It simply means any change in direction of the ball from its trajectory prior to the bat touching the pitched ball.

 

[The Man In Blue]

There is no "up and down" to an arc. It simply means any change in direction of the ball from its trajectory prior to the bat touching the pitched ball.

I don't usually disagree with you Comp, but I'm going to have to on this one.

NFHS and USSSA say a fly ball "rises an appreciable distance above the ground."
USA and NCAA say it "rises into the air."

With enough distance, a ball that we would call a foul tip (or a line drive the other way way) technically has an arc, but it has a very different flight path. Since we are talking about a pop out to the catcher, I need to see something that comes down for me to consider it high enough for fly out.

A high pitch over the batter's head and the catcher is jumping to grab it ... that batter swings (why?) and tips it. I'm not calling that a fly out because the batter altered the trajectory. Heck, any foul tip will alter the trajectory (although it may be slight).

 

[cvsoftball]

how is a foul tip like a swing and miss? if the ball was tipped, then it wasn't missed, eh?

 

[The Man In Blue]

how is a foul tip like a swing and miss? if the ball was tipped, then it wasn't missed, eh?

It was a near miss ... which, if I am near something I am not there. So wouldn't a near miss not be a miss at all?

(It is "like" a swing and a miss in that it stays a live ball.)

 

[canyonjoe]

how is a foul tip like a swing and miss? if the ball was tipped, then it wasn't missed, eh?

In terms of what happens after it's treated the same as a swing and miss. It's not a dead ball like a foul ball but rather a live ball and any plays that ensue are legal.

 

[Northball]

Never had to think of it in those terms, foul tip still live, not the same as foul ball, dead. Thanks, always something new to learn about this game!