Error, hit, double or inside the park home run?

[backstop09]

High fly ball hit to medium left-center. Center and left fielders collide and the ball lands between them. Without the collision, either should have caught it with good but not extraordinary effort. They stay on the ground and the runner goes home. How would you score that?

 

[coachjwb]

This is a home run

 

[GeneralsDad]

If the ball was not touched, homerun.

 

[tjsmize3]

Agree, it is a homerun ... even if you would chose to not give the batter a hit who would you give the error to?

 

[cobb_of_fury]

Agree, it is a homerun ... even if you would chose to not give the batter a hit who would you give the error to?

EASY -
The Coach for not teaching the girls to call the ball...

 

[softballmom2000]

High fly ball hit to medium left-center. Center and left fielders collide and the ball lands between them. Without the collision, either should have caught it with good but not extraordinary effort. They stay on the ground and the runner goes home. How would you score that?

Did this happen at your game? Being a mom, the first thing I thought was not run, hit or error, it was how are those girls who collided because they stayed down a long time.

 

[Captain_Thunder]

Did this happen at your game? Being a mom, the first thing I thought was not run, hit or error, it was how are those girls who collided because they stayed down a long time.

Maybe that is why the OP waited till the next morning to ask..........He now has to score it.

 

[backstop09]

Did this happen at your game? Being a mom, the first thing I thought was not run, hit or error, it was how are those girls who collided because they stayed down a long time.

I appreciate everyone's opinions and weighing in on the matter. Yes, this did happen yesterday during a game in which I was keeping the home book. The well-being of the girls was paramount and everything else was secondary. The girls were on the field and being tended to by EMT's for probably 20 minutes so during this time I talked with the visiting team's scorekeeper and asked what he thought. During our conversation, neither of us thought it should be a home run. He told me he thought it should be a double with an E7 allowing the runner to go home. The collision took place a split second before the ball hit the ground and the ball ricocheted off of at least one of the girls before it hit the ground. I realize that this type of bang-bang play is difficult to picture if you were not there. The centerfielder had the "right of way" and better track to the ball. She ran, but did not sprint to get in position. The left fielder maybe ran a bit faster to get to the ball but I still would not call it a sprint. She did not have quite as good of a track to get to the ball and was probably the one that initiated the contact. The visiting scorekeeper felt that the effort to get to the ball was not ordinary and the batter should get a double. I thought that the effort was ordinary enough that the left fielder should be charged with an error as she initiated the contact and prevented either of the players from making a catch.

Thanks again to everyone for weighing in. More importantly, the girls are both going to be OK. Both were diagnosed at the emergency room with whiplash. Left fielder has a concussion but he center fielder does not.

 

[coachjwb]

I am glad the girls will be fine.

Clarification on exactly what happened ... did the ball hit the ground first or one of the girls first? If it hit one of the girls and it might have been caught with ordinary effort if not for the collision, then it might be ruled a 4 base error.

 

[backstop09]

Both girls reached the spot where the ball landed before the ball landed. As a result of the collision they went to the ground and from my vantage point the ball bounced off at least one of them before landing between them. The ATEC manual covers a lot of things but unfortunately I'm not sure defining "ordinary" effort is one of them. In my opinion the effort was ordinary because they both had time to get to the ball and, while running, they were not sprinting; lunging; diving or sliding to try and catch it.

 

[tjsmize3]

In this case I would still not charge the fielder with an error unless the CF (or LF) had actually caught the ball in her glove and then dropped it as a result of the contact. Although not the exact same situation, see bold-printed below. I don't think just hitting the fielder makes this an error.

SECTION 22—NO ERROR IS CHARGED
No error is charged to a fielder in the following situations:
14.22.1 When a ball is misplayed because of being lost in the
sun or lights, blown by the wind, or if the fielder slips and falls
— even if contact is made with the ball.
14.22.2 When there is a mental mistake. Throwing to the
wrong base is considered a mental mistake.
14.22.3 When a catcher attempts a pick-off, unless the runner
advances an additional base.
14.22.4 When a runner returns safely to her original base on
a rundown.
14.22.5 When a runner beats a wild throw or dropped catch
(unless an additional base is gained or a good throw would not
have led to a different result). This also pertains to the second or
third out of a double or triple play.
Note: A dropped ball by the receiver is an error if the runner
would have been out.
14.22.6 When a ball is hit with such force, so slowly or with
erratic spin, that it would require more than ordinary effort to
play the ball.
14.22.7 When a fly ball is misjudged and the fielder cannot
recover in time to make the play.
14.22.8 When a fielder drops a ball after running a considerable
distance or if she fails in her attempt to catch the ball while
running at a high rate of speed.

 

[softballmom2000]

Thanks again to everyone for weighing in. More importantly, the girls are both going to be OK. Both were diagnosed at the emergency room with whiplash. Left fielder has a concussion but he center fielder does not.

So glad they are both ok. I hope you didn't think I was implying that the girls well-being wasn't paramount, just when reading it the only thing I could think of was they were on the ground for a long time and I hoped they were ok. Thank you for letting us know.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

ATEC's Credit a Hit #6 provides some guidance on ordinary effort in this case.

6. on a fair line drive hit to the outfield which drops to the ground, where the outfielder is attempting the catch on the run, not in a set position; or any fair fly bail hit to the outfield which drops to the ground, where the outfielder either had to cover a considerable distance or make the catch while running at a high rate of speed (credit a hit even if the ball is touched),

ATEC's Errors has one regarding collisions, but is only applicable if one player is making the catch before they collide.

x - If two fielders are running to field a fly ball, one catches it and the second one hits her and causes her to drop it, credit the error to the player who collided with the player who initially caught the ball.

Based on the info given, I'd score it a HR. Inside the park HR's in MLB are usually the result of a collision, misjudging the ball or weird bounce.