Burning question about Baseball Rules ...

[TNGTony]

I have long pondered this question and have never heard a definitive answer. I wonder if any one here would know the answer... I even called Marty Breneman's Banana phone, but couldn't get through:

The question stems from a video I saw of a Japanese Major League Yankee's player who stole a home run by literally climbing the outfield wall and jumping from the top to catch the ball. He and the ball landed back inside the park.

I have also seen times when players go two and three rows deep into the stands to catch a foul ball and it is an out.

So... here is my question:
An outfielder climbs the wall catches the ball... He AND the ball go over the wall. The wall doesn't break. The outfielder climbed and went over when he catches the ball. He caught the ball above the wall and never lets go when he lands on the other side of the wall. Is it an out or a home run in American MLB? Why?

Looking for the video I was talking about, I found this one which shows exactly what I described. It's an out in this league, but is it in the MLB?

[youtube]KUNujYzoYrc[/youtube]

See ya
Tony

 

[TNGTony]

Really? No one? Okay... I guess my burning question will keep me warm a little longer.

See ya
Tony

 

[BillD1984]

Tony,

sorry, I meant to answer this earlier but got sidetracked. Anyway, I'm 95% sure it's an out, because a catch would supercede a player going over the wall.

 

[SabresRule]

My posible theory is that the ball has to touch the ground beyond the wall.

If it clears the wall but doesn't touch something, it's not a homer, IMO.

 

[TNGTony]

So maybe the Bugs Bunny cartoon where he catches the ball at the Umpire State Building is accurate?

[youtube]Ze5_COKI6Pg[/youtube]

Thanks
See ya
Tony

 

[JAG72]

MLB Rule 6.05 has your answer.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2008/official_rules//06_the_batter.pdf

As long as the catch is made while the outfielder has one or both feet over the playing field it is an out and the ball is dead.

 

[TNGTony]

Thanks for posting the rule. But it seems vague to me! Am I reading this right?

So if he catches the ball and falls over the outfield fence never touching the field again even though he caught the ball over the outfield fence, the ball is dead? --- so in the video I posted above, it should have been a home run, not an out?

See ya
Tony

 

[dangue]

Tony,

If I'm reading the rule right, the call in that video was correct: an out was recorded and the ball was ruled dead. Basically: the guy catching the ball had at least one foot over the playing surface (and neither foot on the ground in an out of play area) when the catch was made, so it was a legal out. But he ended up over the wall so the ball is ruled dead- runners are not allowed to advance. If he had instead bounced off the wall and stayed on the field of play, the ball would have still been in play (rather than ruled dead) and runners would have been able to tag up and advance, etc.

That's how I read it. Hope that helps.

 

[Jimbo]

First,
I never thought I would be watching Bug's Bunny on my Computer !
Thanks fro the clip.

I would originally thought that he would be out as well, BUT ......
Seeing he threw his glove in the air to make the catch, I'm sure it would have been called a HR as you cannot throw your glove to make a play ... anywhere.

as for your actual question, that's a good one, I would think that you can run into the stands in foul terr. and make a play without a problem, so .... I would think that it would also be an out if he caught it while going over the wall.

Jimbo

 

[TNGTony]

Gotcha... makes sense.

Tony

 

[JAG72]

Tony,

If I'm reading the rule right, the call in that video was correct: an out was recorded and the ball was ruled dead. Basically: the guy catching the ball had at least one foot over the playing surface (and neither foot on the ground in an out of play area) when the catch was made, so it was a legal out. But he ended up over the wall so the ball is ruled dead- runners are not allowed to advance. If he had instead bounced off the wall and stayed on the field of play, the ball would have still been in play (rather than ruled dead) and runners would have been able to tag up and advance, etc.

That's how I read it. Hope that helps.

This is how I read it as well.

 

[Ramy]

It happens in the majors all the time. Remember when Jeter went flying into the stands?

Also Jimbo is right about throwing your glove. If you throw your glove at a ball in the outfield it is rules and automatic triple for trying to impede the path of the ball without the glvoe attached to a player.....would be the same rule if you threw your shoe at the ball too.