Baseball questions are: * Why is a ball that hits the foul line fair? It must be outside the foul line before it is foul, that is the reason there is chalk, makes it more noticeable to determine if it hit the line. * Why is a ball that hits the foul pole fair [and a home run]? Same as above, except it is a solid object. The poles should be lined up exactly with the chalked line extending from home plate. * Why do umpires routinely call balls strikes that are not within the strike zone? They are human and exhibit all out frailties, there are also many umpires that place their imaginary strike zone in certain height/width orientation from the plate regardless of the batters size, height, etc. and then there are a small few that determine strikes by whether it could have been hit. * What does it mean when a play-by-play announcer says, "The batter hit the ball off the end of the bat."? A bat makes a very distinct sound when the ball impacts it, the end being the last couple inches or so... * Near the end of the season, why do analysts focus on the loss record when comparing teams for potential playoff berths? The top teams may have made playoff spots, those with less than good records earn wildcard spots. Those with the least least losses are more likely to earn a playoff spot, when there are teams with similar records then other team statistics come into play. * If a ball hits in fair territory and then either rolls out or bounces out, and then comes back across into fair territory between the plate and either the 1st or 3rd base bag, is the ball still fair or foul? It is determined by where it impacts in fair territory. The exception is when a fly ball is hit and the umpire observes it pass over 1st or 3rd base in fair play and then slices out to impact the ground in foul territory, that is a fair ball. * If a ball hits the pitchers plate (AKA the "rubber"), does not touch any player or umpire and ends up rolling foul between the plate and the bases, is a fair or foul ball? Fair, see above. I would like to see such a hit, to take such a wicked angle would indeed be impressive to watch... * Why does a "K" on scorecards designate a swinging strike? It signifies a strikeout actually, regardless of whether a bat was swung or not. --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------