Umpire school

Sporting News, The, June 24, 2005 by William Drennan

The situation:

The batter hits a fly ball to the outfield. The outfielder dives for the ball, but in the process his glove slips off his hand. The ball lands, on the fly, directly into the pocket of the glove. The outfielder claims he has made a catch because the ball landed in his glove and never touched the ground. The batter, meanwhile, has touched first base. Out or a single?

The call:

Single. Rule 2.00 defines a catch as "the act of a fielder in getting secure possession in his hand or glove of a ball in flight and firmly holding it." In this example, the outfielder never had possession of the ball. The playerless glove had, in effect, become part of the field. Incidentally, Rule 7.05 (c) calls for a three base penalty if a fielder throws his glove at a batted ball, but "this penalty shall not be invoked against a fielder ... when his glove flies off his hand as he makes an obvious effort at a legitimate catch."