Foul Tips

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This may be a stupid question, so I appologize in advance...
My daughter is a catcher and I've seen umps go both ways on this call:
If the batter tips the ball into the catcher's glove, is it an out? I've seen umps call it a strike and others call the batter out.
Does the batter have to foul a fly ball in order for it to be considered an out, or does the batting count make a difference?
Thanks!

 

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This will answer all your questions:

http://www.game-ex.com/vb3/showthread.php?t=36464

 

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Short version: If there's two strikes already, a foul tip becomes an out when caught. Otherwise, a foul tip, whether caught - or not, is a strike.

 

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The link to the other thread should answer your questions. Here is the "quick and dirty" answer:

The key is this- did the ball come off the bat either: Sharply and directly, such that it went in a straight line to the catcher's hands/mitt...OR...did it come off the bat with a perceptible arc.

IF....sharp and direct....straight line to the mitt and caught...then it is a foul tip (which is really a bad name, since the ball isn't foul). A foul tip is treated exactly the same as a swing and a miss. It is a strike to the batter and the ball remains live. The batter is out only if it is strike three.

IF...there is perceptible arc...then this is treated EXACTLY the same as a batted fly ball over any other part of the field. It can be caught for an out- just the same as any other batted fly ball.

This is actually a question that comes up very often. I've seen this same question about ten times so far this season on other discussion boards, plus had it come up in a few of my games.

 

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Lou has it correct, except that a foul tip MUST be caught, otherwise it is a foul ball.

 

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.... which is a strike. (As stated)

 

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Bretman explains it very well. Thanks for the English and I hope others now understand but to be honest, this is a very good question and recently was discussed in another thread. Many have not understood the true meaning of the description of a foul ball vs. tip ball even when they have been around softball and baseball for years. Great job!

 

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Thanks for all of the responses. I definately have a better understanding of why I've seen umps call both ways.