In one of the college games yesterday (forget which one, maybe OU / Arkansas), there was a pop up in foul territory, 3rd base side. C and 3B converge in plenty of time; C yields, but at the last moment 3B backs away (she seemed afraid of a collision). Ball falls to ground between them untouched. Ruling on the play is given as an error. I am sympathetic, as ball should have been easily caught (both my DD are pitchers.....), but is this correct?
Should this be an error?
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This is one of those odd rules- and may be different in different rule sets.
I didn't see it, so it very likely would fall under the category of not an error. It sounds like bad communication, but not an error.
Lets pretend it was a flat error- ball hit in the palm of the glove of a fielder who was camping under a foul pop. It's still not an error YET. No one got on base or advanced because of the foul ball. In a crazy plot twist if the batter completes their at bat and gets on base THEN it is an error.
I didn't see it, so it very likely would fall under the category of not an error. It sounds like bad communication, but not an error.
Lets pretend it was a flat error- ball hit in the palm of the glove of a fielder who was camping under a foul pop. It's still not an error YET. No one got on base or advanced because of the foul ball. In a crazy plot twist if the batter completes their at bat and gets on base THEN it is an error.
You're rarely gonna see an error awarded when two fielders just look at the ball, at each other, and then the ball drops without either making an attempt at the ball.
But the fact the ball was foul doesn't preclude an error. If a fielder just drops a routine popup in foul territory, that's an error since the batter goes from being out to getting at least one more pitch to work with.
But the fact the ball was foul doesn't preclude an error. If a fielder just drops a routine popup in foul territory, that's an error since the batter goes from being out to getting at least one more pitch to work with.
Doesn’t seem fair, but NCAA rule 14.2.9 defines an error as a misplay charged to a defensive player when it is judged by the official scorer to have prolonged the time at bat (causes one or more pitches to be thrown) of an offensive player or contributed to an offensive player being declared safe. In this case, it seems that the official scorer judged it to be a misplay that prolonged the time at bat even though no one touched it. And it’s a judgement call made by someone in the booth, not on the field, so....
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Why wouldn't it be correct?
The ball should have been caught to retire the batter ... but it wasn't.
Is this the rule in other rule sets? It's not the way I was taught (which may have been incorrect). It seems odd to charge an error if the offense doesn't benefit from the dropped foul ball. Sure the batter may get to see one more pitch, but if she strikes out on the extra pitch, no harm done.
ASA rule 11, section 2.B.6.a has very similar wording about a player that commits a misplay extending the time at bat, but USSSA doesn’t have a definition for error that I can find. I’m with you that a foul ball is just a foul ball unless it’s caught for an out, but some official scorers like to force us into reading the rules. I honestly had to look it up because I didn’t think errors applied in foul territory, but now I know.
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