Baseball rule - opinion

[irv]

Originally Posted by stlcardsfan

Did you all see Austin Jackson of the Indians catch at Fenway in the last week or two? If not, he robbed a home run and ended up falling over the fence in right center into the Red Sox bullpen. The guys on MLB deemed it the best web gem of the year so far.

I have seen this happen several times before (notably in Fenway with the short fence) and in my humble opinion - this should be a home run. He caught the ball but did not keep the ball in the park. The ball ended up over the fence. Granted it did not touch the ground beyond the fence but Jackson surely did.

Since the ball and player ended up over the fence I say HR.

What say you?

I've never thought of that before, but that's an interesting take on things.

One thing I have never understood, but I guess it's based on the amount of space/land they have to utilize, is why there is not much of a standard when it comes to the size of baseball fields and fence heights?

All NHL ice surfaces, except for Olympic size ice rinks, are the same size, as I'm sure most NBA, NFL and soccer fields are too so why not baseball fields?

[chaddurbin]

the argument would be valid if OF jumps the wall and catches ball while standing outside the field of play. if he catches ball while in the field of play with his momentum carries him outside, it's the same principle as a football WR or an basketball player shooting a 3 pointer.

[KMayUSA6060]

Originally Posted by irv

I've never thought of that before, but that's an interesting take on things.

One thing I have never understood, but I guess it's based on the amount of space/land they have to utilize, is why there is not much of a standard when it comes to the size of baseball fields and fence heights?

All NHL ice surfaces, except for Olympic size ice rinks, are the same size, as I'm sure most NBA, NFL and soccer fields are too so why not baseball fields?

Do you know how boring that would be - uniform ballparks? Part of why I love baseball is that each ballpark is unique. I actually wish some parks would become even more unique - 450 ft. to CF and 345 down the lines. I love the uniqueness of Fenway and Comerica.

And Austin Jackson's catch is a very interesting debate. This was highly debated on Cleveland Sports Talk Radio last Wednesday. Fun stuff.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by irv

I've never thought of that before, but that's an interesting take on things.

One thing I have never understood, but I guess it's based on the amount of space/land they have to utilize, is why there is not much of a standard when it comes to the size of baseball fields and fence heights?

All NHL ice surfaces, except for Olympic size ice rinks, are the same size, as I'm sure most NBA, NFL and soccer fields are too so why not baseball fields?

Originally Posted by KMayUSA6060

Do you know how boring that would be - uniform ballparks? Part of why I love baseball is that each ballpark is unique. I actually wish some parks would become even more unique - 450 ft. to CF and 345 down the lines. I love the uniqueness of Fenway and Comerica.

And Austin Jackson's catch is a very interesting debate. This was highly debated on Cleveland Sports Talk Radio last Wednesday. Fun stuff.

I thought about the standard size fields recently, but then realized it still wouldn't matter when the altitudes of the field aren't the same and there for more home runs could still be hit in certain ballparks (Colorado).

[JollyElm]

Standardized stadiums would be a nightmarish return to the 1970's. As Phil Trexler called them in his book, Ballparks Yesterday & Today, 'Cookie Cutters and Concrete Donuts.' Yuck!!!

[savedfrommyspokes]

I say "out" based on this catch.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQGmWv57klQ


Once the umpire verified he had held onto the ball, an out was immediately signaled.

[ajquigs]

I agree this is an interesting question. Since I was a kid I felt it should be a HR if the play isn't completed in the field of play.
Naturally, I realize that's not the case.
Of course, my simplified standard would also implicate landing in the stands in foul territory, although I admit those plays being called outs never bothered me much.

[stlcardsfan]

I agree in foul balls being caught with the player ending up in the stands should be an out. With the premise being the ball is caught "out of bounds" and of course remains out of bounds even with the player in the stands.

With Jackson's catch the ball is caught in the field of play and ends up over the wall. In the words of Kenny Mayne in his best Spanish accent, home rrrrrun.