Greatest baseball catch ever

That's not the fence, dooley, it's just a random obstacle in the outfield.

 

I was wondering the same thing. It's a spectacular play, but it seems to me it should be a home run.

 

You should see the windmill in front of second base.

 

Cop-out, seemingly convenient answer: Umpires convened and quickly agreed that it was a home run. The losing team protested vehemently. I saw the applicable rule.

Do I remember the rule, or the language? No.

Had there been runners on and fewer than two outs, they'd have been awarded one base per a catch-and-carry, dead-ball principle. A similar catch was made during a summer wood-bat collegiate game last season at the same wall, w/ two runners on. They were (incorrectly) awarded two bases apiece.

But the batter was out.

 

According to the story, that's the actual fence. Passan says that the out counts because a catch was made. Maybe in that league, but sounds dubious for baseball in general. Couldn't an outfielder, by that logic, stand in the Fenway bullpen and catch the ball and deny a homer?

 

"That league" is governed by NCAA rules.

And the dude wasn't standing in the bullpen when he made the catch. He jumped from fair, in-play territory.

If someone jumped over the Green Monster during a college game and made a catch...

 

By the way, this remains my favorite catch.

 

So college baseball has the equivalent of a "no foot inbounds" rule. Seems wack to me.

 

Passan writes that the fence is 4 feet tall, but it looks more like 3 feet or so. If it were 4 feet, it would be well above thigh level. Well above the waist, too.

 

Also, re Jeter: He caught the ball in foul ground, then went into the stands. This kid was in possession of the ball in no part of the field of play. That doesn't not make it a helluva play, just what should have been a futile one.

 

It's close to 4 feet tall.

Dooley -- I shouldn't definitively speak to the legality of the catch. The umpires seemed pretty clear about which rule was applicable, the existence of said rule, and the interpretation of the rule.

 

Doesn't necessarily make them, or the rule, right, merely authoratative.