The base umpire declares "Foul" on a fly ball that is caught by the right fielder in fair ground and thrown to second to double up the runner who left the base too soon. What is the ruling?

• A. It is a foul ball and the ball is immediately dead.
• B. It is a fair ball and the catch stands, but the ball is immediately dead.
• C. The ball stays live and in play, and the catch is recorded along with the out at second base.
• D. The offensive team coach gets to decide which out will stand.

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is that a legally caught fly ball ends the batter’s turn, but the ball can remain in play long enough for a defensive play to complete a double play if a runner left a base too soon. In this scenario, the right fielder makes a legal catch in fair territory. That recordable catch results in an out for the batter. Because the ball is still live long enough for the fielder to throw to second base and put the runner out who left the base early, you can have two outs on the same continuous action: the catch itself and the runner out at second.

So the ball stays live through the play, the catch is recorded as an out, and the throw to second to double up the runner is part of the same play, resulting in an additional out at second. The other options don’t fit because the ball isn’t treated as foul or immediately dead when a fair-ground catch occurs, and the coach doesn’t decide which out stands.