Dr. Friendly on Foul Tips

Dr. Friendly is a non-certified medical amateur, whose advice column appears exclusively in Hidden Blog.

Dear Dr. Friendly,

In baseball I think it’s wrong that a zero- or one-strike foul tip which is caught by the catcher is not an out. Every other scenario where a batted ball is caught in the field of play before hitting the ground is an out. It’s not the defense’s fault the hitter couldn’t hit the ball solidly. There’s no logic to it being a strike, just the emotional argument that “he didn’t REALLY hit it, it’s just a tip.” I think that’s like taking a strike away from a bowler if the 10th pin only fell because another pin rolled into it at the last second, or giving a basketball player another attempt at a free throw if their previous attempt rolled all around the rim and really looked like it was going to fall, but didn’t. Does this foul-tip thing irritate you?

Foul Mood

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Dear Foul,

It does not irritate me. It's a stretch to think that this rule will be changed so drastically as to be ruled an out. But I do think that any one of the following alternatives are reasonable:

1. If he subsequently hits it and there's a close play at first, the tie should go to the fielder.
2. If he subsequently reaches base, that doesn't count either - he has to go back and start over again. And a substitute pitcher may come in to finish the at-bat, and then exit the game and re-enter later.
3. The batter must finish the at-bat without his helmet.
4. The batter must finish the at-bat without his bat.
5. The batter must conduct the rest of his at bat from outside the batter's box.
6. The pitcher may move as close to the batter as he wants for the rest of the at-bat.
7. If the batter chooses to continue the at-bat, the opposing team gets an "out" to be used like a get-out-of-jail free card whenever they need it.
8. If the batter continues the at-bat and fails to reach base safely, he is ejected from the game and must retire.
9. The catcher is allowed to interfere with the batter however he chooses for the remainder of the at-bat.