A legal catch governed by three criteria

Baseball Digest, July, 2008 by Rich Marazzi

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THE RED SOX AND BLUE JAYS played in Toronto on April 4. In e bottom of the sixth inning, the Jays had Lyle Overbay on second base and Frank Thomas on third with one out when Aaron Hill hit a shot to left center that Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury snared.

He initially made the grab, but after two quick steps, he crashed into the wall and lost control of the ball. Thomas scored on the play but Overbay didn't advance to third base because he wasn't sure what the ruling was on the field since the umpires were slow to signal. Notice I used such words as "grab" and "snare." I did not say he caught the ball.

The ruling was that Ellsbury did not make a legal catch even though he held the ball for a second or two. The broadcasters as well as the players appeared confused about the ruling. One of the broadcasters said, "He "(umpire) was trying to see if Ellsbury had it long enough." His partner replied," I don't think he had it long enough." Although this is a common reaction, there is nothing in the rulebook that stipulates how long a fielder must hold the ball to make a legal catch.

Often times a player will "glove," "grab," "spear" or "snare" a ball but not make a legal catch by the rules. To make a legal catch, a defensive player must meet all of the following criteria: (1) He must have secure possession of a ball in flight in his hand or glove and firmly hold it; (2) He must hold the ball long enough to prove that he has complete control of the ball; and (3) His release (transfer) must be voluntary and intentional. Regarding item No.2, the voluntary and intentional release of the ball is proof of complete control even if the player's body is not under control, although this seldom occurs.

The first two requirements are clear and easy to understand though both are subject to the judgment of the umpire. It's the term "voluntary and intentional release" that covers the fielder's transfer of the ball which gets tricky since the standard among umpires as to what constitutes "voluntary and intentional" may vary. Generally speaking, umpires want to see the player reaching into his glove. Veteran umpire Tim McClleland goes one step further. He says, "Voluntary and intentional release is when a player actually reaches into his glove and is in the act of pulling it out." Frequently, when a fielder is trying to rush a throw after making a catch he will drop the ball but is given credit for the catch because he was in the act of making the transfer which demonstrates complete control.

In the Ellsbury play, he was unable to make a voluntary transfer of the ball because he crashed into the wall which caused him to drop the ball. When a fielder loses a ball after "immediately or simultaneously" crashing into a wail, a grandstand, a teammate or falling to the ground, he does not get credit for the catch even if he has had secure possession and complete control prior to that. The words "immediately" and "simultaneously" are an individual umpire's judgment with no time limit attached.

In the game of football the ground can't cause a fumble, but it can in baseball. Whenever an extraneous factor such as crashing into a wall causes a fielder to lose a ball, it results in an "involuntary release" which is what happened to Ellsbury.

A classic example of a fielder who carried the ball for a distance but was not credited with a catch because he failed to meet the "transfer" part of the rule occurred on September 26, 1982, in Atlanta where the Braves hosted the Padres. In the third inning with two outs and the bases empty, San Diego's Gene Richards lofted a ball to left field. Braves' left fielder Terry Harper gloved the ball in fair territory, before running several feet and crossing into foul territory. His momentum then carried him across the line into the bullpen railing. Trying to cushion his landing, he grabbed the railing to brace himself before tumbling into the bullpen area. While doing this, the bail dropped out of his glove onto the playing field keeping the ball in play.

Umpire Ed Vargo ruled Harper's play "no catch" since he never made a transfer and Richards cruised around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. The official scorer originally ruled the play a four base error, but the league office overruled the decision and gave Richards a home run.

By the way, concerning the Ellsbury play, one of the problems that the umpires and players had was that the scoreboard lighting made it difficult to see the ball. Umpires have repeatedly complained to the league about the scoreboards located in the outfield gaps at the Rogers Centre since the scoreboards create an apparent blind zone. The scoreboards were installed prior to the 2006 season.

One last point. Let's say that Indians' left fielder David Dellucci and shortstop Jhonny Peralta collide while chasing a looping fly ball. Both players fall to the ground incapacitated. The ball is resting in Peralta's glove for several seconds before it trickles out of his glove. If this should happen, the injured Indians' shortstop would not get credit for a catch. If a teammate removes the ball from Peralta's glove, the catch would now be legalized since the requirement for the transfer or voluntary and intentional release of the ball would have been met.