THE BLOCKING OF BALLS.
Any interference with the progress of a batted or thrown ball by any person not one of the contesting players in a game, is what is termed blocking the ball. Suppose a ball is batted to the short stop, and that fielder overthrows the ball to first base, and it goes toward the crowd and is there stopped or touched by an outsider, the moment this stoppage of the ball or interference with it occurs, the umpire must call "Block ball," and until the ball is returned to the field and held by the pitcher while in his "box," it is dead for putting out any base runner; and such runners are permitted to run all the bases they can until the ball is thus put legally into play. But should such overthrown ball, in addition to its being stopped or diverted from its course by any outsider, be also kicked aside or picked up and thrown out of reach by a fielder, the umpire must in addition call "Time," in which case runners shall only be entitled to hold such bases as they had touched before the ball had been so kicked or thrown out of reach, the ball, as in the prior case, not being in play until held by the pitcher while in his box.
HITTING BALLS FOUL INTENTIONALLY.
Rule 42, Section III, requires the umpire to call a strike on the batsman every time he makes "an obvious attempt to make a foul hit." Rule 43, Section XIII, states that "If, after two strikes have been called, the batsman obviously attempts to make a foul hit" he is out. Last year these rules were both misinterpreted by umpires. In the first place, in both cases the intention of the batsman must be plainly manifest; and to judge of this the circumstances of the case must be taken into consideration. For instance, if the batsman bunts a ball foul when a runner is on abase, it is evident that he does so unintentionally, for no point of play is to be gained by such a foul hit. Then, too, the hitting of a foul ball must be repeatedly done before such hitting can be adjudged as otherwise than accidental.
BATTING OUT OF ORDER.
Rule 43 states that the batsman who fails to bat in his proper turn according to the approved order of batting, must be decided out by the umpire, unless the error in question be discovered and the right batsman be sent to the bat in the regular order "before a fair hit has been made." If, before the mistake is discovered, "strikes" or "balls" be called upon the batsman who is out of his order of batting, such strikes and balls shall be counted against the batsman who should have gone to the bat in the regular order. But the violation of the rule must be declared by the field Captain before the ball is delivered to a succeeding batsman, or the penalty of an out cannot be enforced, the mistake, of course, being at once corrected, without the enforcement of the penalty.
RETURNING TO BASES ON FOUL BALLS.
The change made in Rule 45 is to the effect that base runners required to return to bases which they had left on a hit ball, can, if the ball be hit foul and not caught on the fly, return to their respective bases directly. For instance, suppose the batsman hits a long fly ball to right field, on which he runs to third base before the ball falls on foul ground, under the old rule he would be required to return to home base after retouching second and first bases; but under the new rule he can in such case return to home base direct from third, instead of returning around the diamond. The object of the amended rule was to save loss of time by a runner's leisurely return to the base he had left.
HOLDING BASES AFTER TOUCHING THEM.
Rule 45, in its reference to a base runner having the right to hold a base after touching it, is to be thus defined: Suppose that base runners are on third and second bases, and that the runner on third is trying to steal home, and in doing so vacates third base and runs for home base, the occupant of second base in the meantime running to third base and holding that base; and suppose that in such case the runner from third to home finds himself likely to be put out at home base, and then returns to third base, he still has the right to that base, and having such right, the runner from second to third must give up holding third base and try and get back to second, failing which, and preferring to hold third base, he can be put out there even while standing on third base, provided the legal occupant of that base is also standing on that base, but not otherwise.