Baseball rule - opinion

[Butch7999]

Is the question "was this a hit or an out according to the rules?,"
or is the question "should the rules be written to specify that this was not an out?"

The situation is actually a shade ambiguous by the rule book, which doesn't quite address it specifically,
but comes closest in Rule 5.09:
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5.09 Making an Out
(a) (6.05) Retiring the Batter
A batter is out when:
(1) His fair or foul fly ball (other than a foul tip) is legally caught by a fielder;

Rule 5.09 (a) (1) Comment (Rule 6.05 (a) Comment): A fielder
may reach into, but not step into, a dugout to make a catch, and
if he holds the ball, the catch shall be allowed. A fielder, in
order to make a catch on a foul ball nearing a dugout or other
out-of-play area (such as the stands), must have one or both
feet on or over the playing surface (including the lip of the
dugout) and neither foot on the ground inside the dugout or in
any other out-of-play area. Ball is in play, unless the fielder,
after making a legal catch, steps or falls into a dugout or other
out-of-play area, in which case the ball is dead. Status of runners
shall be as described in Rule 5.06(b)(3)(C) Comment
(Rule 7.04(c) Comment).

A catch is the act of a fielder in getting secure possession in his
hand or glove of a ball in flight and firmly holding it; providing he
does not use his cap, protector, pocket or any other part of his uniform
in getting possession. It is not a catch, however, if simultaneously
or immediately following his contact with the ball, he collides
with a player, or with a wall, or if he falls down, and as a result of
such collision or falling, drops the ball.... In establishing the validity
of the catch, the fielder shall hold the ball long enough to prove that
he has complete control of the ball and that his release of the ball
is voluntary and intentional. If the fielder has made the catch and
drops the ball while in the act of making a throw following the catch,
the ball shall be adjudged to have been caught.

Catch Comment: A catch is legal if the ball is finally held by
any fielder, even though juggled, or held by another fielder
before it touches the ground. Runners may leave their bases the
instant the first fielder touches the ball. A fielder may reach
over a fence, railing, rope or other line of demarcation to make
a catch. He may jump on top of a railing, or canvas that may be
in foul ground....
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PS factoid: NHL rinks were not standardized in size until the late 1990s.
Boston, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh were notable among NHL teams having
rinks slightly smaller or larger than the typical 200x85'.