# Baseball Question: Would This be a Home Run?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question-would-this-be-a-home-run/443448>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [March 31, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question-would-this-be-a-home-run/443448 "2008-03-31T21:05:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question-would-this-be-a-home-run/443448/41 "2008-04-04T15:35:30Z")

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[QUOTE=glee]  
\<snip\>  
I expect you are thinking of a player who leaps in the air, knocks a flying ball back into play and then lands in touch - when the ball is indeed in play.  
\<snip\>  
[/QUOTE]

Nope, I’m thinking of the “Definitions” section of Law 19 which states:

> [@](#):
>
> The ball is in touch if a player catches the ball and that player has a  
> foot on the touchline or the ground beyond the touchline.

So, if you kick the ball and I catch it with one foot in touch, I get to throw the lineout.

[http://www.irb.com/mm/Document/LawsRegs/0/COMPLETELAWS\_4513.pdf](http://www.irb.com/mm/Document/LawsRegs/0/COMPLETELAWS_4513.pdf)

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question-would-this-be-a-home-run/443448/42 "2008-04-04T16:22:58Z")

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[QUOTE=Malacandra]  
Heh. Damned colonials. [Canterbury](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury#Sport) cricket ground formerly had a lime tree (one of [these](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilia), not the fruit tree) within the field of play. A ball touching the tree and not otherwise crossing the boundary scored four runs. (Our nearest equivalent to the automatic double quoted above, but a common score in cricket; a “home run” would be worth six and is less common, though seen more often these days than formerly.) Now there’s a quirk for you!  
[/QUOTE]  
Thirty years ago, outfielders in Yankee Stadium [had to deal with three monuments within the field of play](http://www.yankeetradition.com/ys1966.jpg).

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**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-question-would-this-be-a-home-run/443448/43 "2008-04-10T21:18:53Z")

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[QUOTE=muldoonthief]  
Slight nitpick - a fielder can leap into the stands as long as he doesn’t touch any part of the stands until after he catches the ball. He can land in the stands after he catches it, and it’s an out.

Though I can never remember if the umpires are part of the field or don’t exist for fielding purposes.  
[/QUOTE]

The ump is “part of the field”. Umpires work field mechanics constantly so that they can get into the best position to see the play and make the call without getting into the action proper. However, occasionally an umpire will get hit. If it was a thrown ball, the ball is in play. If it was a batted ball that has passed by a defensive player, or been touched by a defensive player, it’s in play. If it hasn’t passed a defensive player, the ball is dead, and the batter and all runners are awarded one base.

IIRC…

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