The home run is one of the most straightforward rules in sports. The ball goes over the fence, the player gets to circle the bases. But it isn’t always that simple.
In the fourth inning of Sunday’s Triple A game between the Oklahoma City Dodgers and Sacramento River Cats, OKC’s Devin Mann hit a long fly ball deep into the right-center field gap. Bryce Johnson tracked it down on the warning track and the ball landed in his glove for what appeared to be nothing but a long out.
But after Johnson made the catch, his momentum carried him toward the outfield fence. He collided with the wall and in the process, the ball fell out of his glove and over the fence. This prompted a conference by the umpires and after some deliberation, Mann was awarded a home run and allowed to circle the bases.
This isn’t the same as the home run that infamously bounced off the head of Jose Canseco. In that case, the ball deflected directly off of the fielder and over the fence. MLB’s rules are very clear on situations like that. Rule 5.05(a)(9) states that “any fair fly ball ... deflected by the fielder into the stands” in fair territory results in a home run.
Johnson’s play is less clear-cut, though. The ball landed in his glove and he took at least four steps before bracing himself against the wall and dropping the ball. As the announcer pointed out, “he’s got possession and he’s got a baseball move, if you will.”
The play was indeed reminiscent of NFL arguments over what constitutes a catch, but MLB’s rule book also provides a better definition of a catch than the NFL’s does. It requires a fielder to “hold the ball long enough to prove that he has complete control of the ball and that his release of the ball is voluntary and intentional.” Since he was scrambling along the wall, it was clear Johnson wasn’t in complete control and he certainly didn’t drop the ball voluntarily or intentionally. Good call by the umpires.
