Fair Ball at Yankee Stadium - Why Umpire Called Bobby Witt's Bunt Fair When Touched by DJ LeMahieu

After HP Umpire Lance Barrett signaled fair when Yankees third baseman DJ LeMahieu swiped his glove at Royals batter Bobby Witt's bunt, New York seemed perplexed by the lack of a foul ball call. To answer this riddle, we must consult the rulebook (and do a 3D simulation). Article: www.closecalls...
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"A FAIR BALL is a batted ball that settles on fair ground between home and first base, or between home and third base, or that is on or over fair territory when bounding to the outfield past first or third base, or that touches first, second or third base, or that first falls on fair territory on or beyond first base or third base, or that, while on or over fair territory touches the person of an umpire or player, or that, while over fair territory, passes out of the playing field in flight."
Within this wordy definition appear two criteria for determining whether a ball is fair or foul: in some cases, the ball must be on fair territory/ground in order to be considered fair whereas, in others, the ball may be either on or over fair territory/ground.
For example, a fly ball to left field must first fall on fair territory. But notice that for the Royals-Yankees play-fielder LeMahieu physically touching the ball prior to first or third base-the ball may be either on or over fair territory when touched in order to be deemed fair.
Thus, even though the ball itself was in contact (or on) with foul territory, part of the baseball's sphere was positioned over fair territory when first touched by LeMahieu, and, thus, the ball was ruled fair.

[@oxwof]

Thank you for using criterion/criteria correctly. I'm not an ump, and I don't even watch all that much baseball, but this is one of my favorite channels on here.

[@afuzzycreature8387]

if you look at the rule it looks like whether its over is a conditional situation. I think this is mostly due to poor wording but not every "over" situation is fair/foul

[@markanderson6654]

I have umpired bb for over 40 years and never heard this explained in this manner. Thanks for the clarification and teaching and old dog new tricks.

[@sleestack13]

Thanks for these videos! I have been a HUGE baseball fan for most of my 54 years, and I swear that I learn something new regarding the rules or interpretation of the rules near every day. What a strange, wonderful sport.

[@J.C...]

Oddly enough, it seems like knowing the rules can actually make baseball even more interesting.

[@mahasw777]

Thanks for the breakdown. I was watching this game live yesterday and when I saw this play, I knew you’d probably do a video about it. You did not disappoint! Thanks for the great explanation.

[@paulg5441]

Before Lindsay explained the rule - every soccer referee ever: "That's a fair ball". After explaining the rule: "Yet another question Aaron Boone got wrong."

[@dumbmusmaximus6054]

A similar rule applies in soccer (football for the rest of the world) too. The soccer ball has to be completely passed over the touchline to be out of bounds. An example was the 2nd goal by Japan against Spain in last year world cup.

[@donh6416]

Believe the law in soccer states the whole ball over the whole line.

[@jtsholtod.79]

That was what immediately came to mind when I saw this: it's the same as soccer/football. I was not aware that a difference existed for infield vs. outfield fly balls. However, I am aware enough not to trust anything Boone says regarding rules.

[@warspite1515]

For soccer ⚽️ -- it's very much the same. If the sphere of the ball is over the line -- even if the ball is touching the line outside the line -- ball in play. Called plenty of that as an Assistant Referee on touch lines. Same thing here in baseball in this scenario. Great breakdown Lin.

[@jayamerican1326]

That came to my mind, too!

[@toddphipps5496]

In my 25 plus years of umpiring, 16 years of playing, and 10 years coaching, I have never seen this comparison of a ball being over the line but not on the line? Very enlightening and the best breakdown and explanation of the rule content and the differences between the two. Thank you for all the great content you keep putting out.

[@michaelgauthier2741]

Easiest way I think of it, if that had been going over the base (third base in this case) would the ball have hit the bag? Even if the part touching the ground is past the chalk, the edge of the ball would have hit the bag, therefore, fair ball.

[@andreasgottlieb2758]

Onca again the announcers have no clue about the rules. No surprise there.

[@snoopyloftis]

Baseball announcers get paid to look dumb to make that team look good.

[@vCtrlAltDelv]

I had no idea the ball didn't have to touch the line to be fair.

[@danielplotkin1586]

I've learned a lot from CCS. Just a great resource.

[@bernier42]

Only within the infield. A lot of people don’t know that!

[@davidchodds]

I love how emphatic the announcers are even though they are 100% ignorant of the rules.

[@areguapiri]

They are completely clueless.

[@jimreadey4837]

Cool, thanks for this clarification -- the ball was both off and over the line. Good call, ump! ⚾

[@richgodfrey7242]

Again great job. Thank you.

[@alvinthecat8426]

This is one of the best vids u have done. IMHO. Learned a bunch here.

[@cagedtigersteve]

Thanks for the video. Good call.

[@tmlms1313]

There was a play like 2 or 3 years ago now where this exact same thing happened, except instead of paying attention to the game before arguing, they let 3 runs score and stood there arguing while the runner ran around the bases.

[@metfanal]

I cant believe so many people didnt know this....i think it is ever funnier that both Yankee announcers were convinced it was foul, even though replay showed the ball fair!!!

[@alanhess9306]

Announcers are some of the most clueless folks in the ball park.

[@mattciciarelli6965]

Think of it this way … the plane of the edge of the line extends from the ground straight up into the air (infinite). If any part of the ball touches that plane (even if the ball itself is touching foul ground), it’s considered fair.

[@bennygarcia1913]

Such a cool video ! Thank you for the rule clarification. I was definitely waiting for this one

[@bruce4139]

If we threw this on tik tok everyone woukd say that the umpires made a horrible call, personally I would have called that foul but now that I understand the ruling i can make better calls on field

[@chipdayton1625]

I loved listening to Kay and O'Neill making fools of themselves claiming it was a foul ball.

[@michaelplowman8674]

It's fair by the same reasoning that any part of the ball crossing the plate in the batter's strike zone is a strike.

[@J.C...]

Whoa. I never considered the ball has a width that includes what doesn't touch the ground.

[@areguapiri]

Same thing in football at the goalline.

[@mptr1783]

And Aaron Boone obviously didnt know THIS rule either lol

[@J.C...]

🤣👌

[@douglassepic9030]

Aaron Boone doesn't know a rule? In other news, water is wet and fire is hot.

[@SupraFootwear2013]

I didn’t know Aaron Boone was an umpire and needed to know every rule

[@happysqWid]

​@@SupraFootwear2013he's not, but do you think umpires are the only people who should know the rules?

[@GRice999]

@@SupraFootwear2013 Besides being a silly take on the issue because the manager of a MLB team should know the rules as much as possible, Aaron Boone was previously a third baseman and this particular rule should be known and understood by all players, especially first and third basemen, catchers and pitchers.

[@quigonkenny]

It's real simple. As long as any part of the ball is *_over_* the line it's fair. It still was when the player knocked it away, even rhough it was only touching foul territory.

[@avalonfour8054]

I used to officiate youth soccer. The rules for a ball out of bounds is the same - the entire ball must cross out over the side line or end line (or goal line!), and the line itself is part of the field of play.

[@KWally]

Right away I thought the fair line extends vertically just like the foul pole.

[@mikecolie9290]

Another great call by an umpire who was in the proper position to see and make the call.

[@patersonplankrd]

First, kudos to the HP Umpire for being in the correct position to make the call. THe ruling IS correct. Part of the ball was over the line. The ENTIRE line is INSIDE fair territory. Case closed. Announcers should brush up on the rules

[@kdwaynec]

If third base had been right there the edge of the ball would've touched the base and deflected away, making it an obvious fair ball, even though 99% of the ball was above foul territory.

[@CloseCallSports]

Bingo!

[@danielplotkin1586]

And that's the best explanation of the "why" of this rule.

[@hawksite]

@@danielplotkin1586 Until the ball stops rolling there is a chance that it could roll back into fair territory or hit the bag. If the ball was 100% over the line and the player in foul territory touched it.....

[@alanhess9306]

@@hawksite Yes, the player in foul territory who touches the ball while part of the ball is over the line is a fair ball.

[@HB-fg8ne]

Great call.

[@dougr188]

Announcers that don't know the rules? Shocking.

[@auzmo]

I had a play like this as a coach in softball i was right next to the line so i had probably the second best view to the umpire. He called it foul I started to complain a bit right away, but everyone else acted like I was the crazy one and I knew he wasnt going to change it, so i just shut my mouth. Its funny how when youre an official or coach on unusual plays often times when you are correct by the rules is when everyone else thinks you are wrong and thinks you are crazy/not a good official. Even at the MLB level the players (and coaches, commentators and fans) probably all think the umpire screwed up until someone explains the rule to them.

[@PastorAdam7476]

When I first saw this play, I knew it was going to CCS video soon and the announcer once again got it wrong.

[@CloseCallSports]

We're here for you!

[@OUdarling]

This is just like soccer or hockey, where “the whole of the [ball/puck] must cross the whole of the line.” Good call and good explanation!

[@TheHockey12]

Grown men that have been fortunate enough to get to "the show" and still do not know or comprehend even the simplest of rules.

[@renstein8210]

I did not know this rule, but as soon as you showed the one replay with the line up of the up/ball/line, it became obvious that this was the rule.

[@rj7411]

Outstanding clip of "the dumbest manager in MLB" at his postgame presser. Someone get him a subscription to CCS because he still doesn't know fair from foul. Well done Lindsay.

[@johnward2998]

I get the feeling that Boone only has 62 more games (at most) left in his tenure as skipper of the yankees.

[@AEMoreira81]

@@johnward2998 -- You wouldn't see Larry Bowa doing that!

[@CaravanseraiSouthValley]

FFS. I only played little league and high school ball and I knew what happened immediately. “Good call, ump” is not something I usually say, be he was absolutely right.

[@golflre7179]

Nice analysis - ❤

[@annettemalaski1967]

I knew why as soon as you showed the first replay! The shadow told the tale!

[@davidlpeterson9051]

Perfect explanation!

[@jamesdevoto7266]

This channel is perhaps the greatest example of the fact that in most cases apparently, the local announcers are many times so ignorant of the rules.

[@mahasw777]

As are the fans, players, managers, etc. on unusual plays/situations. I’ve learned a lot from CCS! By the way, I think a lot of broadcast teams should have a rules expert as a part of their team. (Like the NFL does)

[@louisdesroches]

Why do managers/players/announcers not understand this rule? It comes up every once in a while, so not super uncommon.

[@mikejunt]

Its because as Lin mentions, the ball hitting the line on the fly comes up way more often and the criteria there is not the same.

[@roberthudson1959]

Two reasons. The first is that the player isn't usually that quick to touch the ball. The second is that the ball is ruled foul more often than it is ruled correctly.

[@tonys4250]

When I coached little league baseball every coach was given a new rule book and I wouldn't be surprised at the end of the season 99% of the books were never opened.

[@johnward2998]

More importantly, why wouldn't you make sure your third baseman is well aware of this rule, given that he will probably be dealing with this more often than any other player?

[@billbell2311]

@@tonys4250 We often found those rule books in the bottom of the bat bag when equipment was returned after the season was over.

[@joelsittler6997]

Very cool, thanks Jombo- I mean uh CloseCallSports

[@jeffhembd9471]

Great analysis as always.

[@firstchurchofht5370]

I saw a comments section in which people were literally threatening to end each other as they disagreed with this call. There are so many uneducated toxic fans that refuse to be educated on the rules that it's actually embarrassing.

[@worldsedge4991]

I think this was a case of two people, the umpire and the player, trying to judge the moment when the whole ball is in foul territory. The two judgements disagreed, but the umpire’s is authoritative.

[@Rowgue51]

No the players just fucked up. The ball rolled well foul at one point. That's when it should have been touched. But they just stood there and watched it assuming it was going to keep going foul until it came to rest. But it started curling back towards fair territory and that's when they went into panic mode and tried to touch it before it came back fair. But they were too late on the touch because they took the lazy approach prior to that.

[@scottdeakes8494]

At my first umpire school, this was the first thing we covered. Fair ball.

[@jamesoliver6625]

Fans who object to the call don't actually know the rule.

[@bobkmac]

0:14 Cole acting distracted (and kind of hiding his wind up behind the ump) to bait the runner into going was very smart. Runner was putty in his hands.

[@IPv6Freely]

It's not that complex. It's a sphere. Good lord, folks.

[@kristopherwagner4173]

Such an easy play. Why can’t players and coaches understand the rules. MLB should mandate everyone watch this channel.

[@FUGP72]

Gee..how weird. Michael Kay doesn't know the rules but acts like an expert again.

[@HarrySJohnson]

Extremely common announcer L

[@Briansgate]

tv broadcasters getting it wrong always entertains me.

[@holmj12]

I'm a soccer referee, the rule is the same. I also have gotten crap for not calling a ball out of play on similar situations multiple times.

[@ohger1]

I can see why baseball is tougher to call given the size of the ball. A soccer ball can be 4" over the line and not touch it. There's not a lot of room to have a baseball not touch the foul line yet still hang over it.

[@holmj12]

@ohger1 not sure how judging a baseball is a tougher call. I think they are both difficult calls. Soccer has Goal Line Technology for tough and important goal/no goal decisions that the human eye can't make accurately.

[@fifiwoof1969]

Unbelievable that so many players don't know the rules. Another great video Lindsay - thankyou:-).

[@Mosk915]

Players are paid for their talent. I doubt most teams expect their players to have an intricate understanding of the rules beyond the obvious stuff.

[@fifiwoof1969]

@@Mosk915 could earn it by knowing the rule book. Imagine if a play like that cost them a playoff spot or the world series - you reckon that player's value wouldn't nosedive?

[@fifiwoof1969]

@@Mosk915 if it's in the rule book you're expected to know it. Black and white dude 😎.

[@mahasw777]

There are about a million rules, so it’s a bit unrealistic to expect players to know every single one. But I would like broadcast teams to include former umpires as rules experts so viewers can get an explanation instead of having commentators making ill-informed comments.

[@Mosk915]

@@fifiwoof1969 So if an all-star caliber player doesn’t know every single obscure rule in the rulebook, a team wouldn’t be interested in him? I don’t think so.

[@randolphhudson8645]

And nobody was ejected!?!?! Im shocked

[@smalls3187]

Probably cause the runner tried for second and got caught. No reason to argue when the player got out anyways.

[@ronwatson4043]

How does anyone at that level not know this? If any part of the ball is hanging over the foul line, then it's a fair ball.

[@ronpeacock9939]

I’ve had one of those myself… correct call? Hell yes.. Will you get an arguement? Every single time… and they did.. but from what I can see on replay.. correct call.. not much but definitely over fair territory.

[@areguapiri]

Just from my first view at normal speed, I can easily see why the umpire called it a fair ball. Even from video angle, it looks like the ball was "over" the line when it was touched. The same rule applies in football at the goal-line.

[@Clothahump1]

Damn good call by the ump.

[@johndoe-yw7eb]

Go figure, Yankee announcers and Aaron “1 for 10” Boone being 100% clueless about the rules.

[@bradk1406]

This is just as important in soccer…Remember the World Cup goal??

[@angc214]

TV announcers steadfastly insist upon showing their refusal to learn the rules. As soon as I saw the play I knew exactly why it should be called fair. Maybe I can get a job in a broadcast booth as a rules expert. Never mind. MLB loves having an angry fan base.

[@tmlms1313]

And they wonder why youth baseball has such a shortage of umpires they have to cancel baseball games...... Coaches and players see the mlb players and broadcasters act like this and think it's okay to treat 16 year old umpires getting paid $50 the same way.

[@Pickledfeet165]

Fair ball It’s over the line which acts as a plane.

[@poluticon]

so then why do they look for chalk to call it fair when a ball is hit down the line? It seems that it doesn't matter if it hits chalk or not, if the ball can land in foul territory but still be called fair

[@nominisexpers259]

@@poluticonrewatch the video. You’ll have your explanation there. 2:57

[@cinci4life116]

@@poluticon Because that's how the rule is written. Go back to about 1:35 when she puts the full rule up and you see before first or third the ball has to be on or over the line. If it goes by first or third in the air it must touch in fair territory.

[@teebob21]

@@poluticonAre you serious? The video literally just explained that to you.

[@puckerings]

Wait - so you're saying MLB umpires actually know the rules better than players and managers and announcers, all of whom tend to have a biased perspective? How about that?

[@alanhess9306]

The point being is that announcers speak as though they are experts when they are 100% wrong.

[@boscoszeto9362]

what my coach taught me.... just imagine.... would that part of the ball that is OVER the line, hit the foul pole to score a homerun if the foul line is the foul pole.....

[@richardpupko5156]

A volleyball is much larger than a baseball so this situation comes up more frequently. When instructing line people on their duties the phrase we used was any portion of the ball on or over any portion of the line. I'm pretty sure it's the same in tennis

[@reamick]

It's not. The ball has to touch the line (and nothing outside the line) in tennis; overhanging isn't enough. The rules specifically say a return that hits the ground outside of the correct court loses the point.

[@JaZzure79]

How unfortunate that a broadcaster, equipped with unqualified confidence and subject to no accountability, has the power to instantly misinform a large number of people.

[@wrldchamps04]

Well Michael Kay is never wrong so.. ....

[@Rowgue51]

That is the primary reason so many people have an incorrect understanding of so many rules. Being an announcer used to have standards. Almost every old school announcer had an impeccable knowledge of the game and it's rules. The profession started getting dumbed down when they decided name recognition was the primary qualification and started filling every booth with ex-players and relatives of former announcers/commentators.

[@JaZzure79]

@@Rowgue51 Well said. I think there are a small number that still pride themselves on understanding the rules fairly well, or at least will follow up after a play with a condensed (informed) explanation to demistify a call. But those broadcasters are clearly the exception.

[@edwardduering5776]

Sounds like the media of today regarding politics. (Before I get lots of nasty replies here, I just want to say it's dividing us.)

[@patrickwall8517]

I'm a Cardinal's fan and that case the ball was squarely on the line when the pitcher touched.

[@coachhannah2403]

Soccer laws, too! As long as some part of the ball is above or inside the line!

[@russchapman2997]

You need to forward this to the Yankee announcer

[@garygemmell3488]

Once again, MLB announcers show just how freaking ignorant they are with Aaron "10%" Boone chiming in with his vast knowledge of the rules.

[@fwelton]

It looked fair to me, but in my defense I have reffed a lot of soccer, so the general rule of if any part of the ball is in, the ball is in was easy for me to apply.

[@TonyCrenshawsLatte]

Yeah, the soccer fan in me knew immediately why that ball was considered a fair ball. Hockey fans knew it too, I reckon.

[@dannythurstoniii6307]

THAT WAS A HECK OF A RUNON SENTENCE FOR THAT RULE! 1:39

[@donaldthomas7070]

Somewhere a fussy English teacher is having a coronary.

[@JoshBrodhecker]

So if the ball is hit in the air and lands in a similar configuration in the outfield with the ball hanging over the line like this, would this also be a fair ball? Logically it would make sense as the line is continuous all the way to the "fair" pole.

[@atigersgrin]

That would fall under the part of the rule that says "first falls on fair territory on or beyond first or third base." This section says "falls on" instead of "falls on or above." So the rule is different once you get to the bases. The ball must actually touch the line or be inside to be called fair.

[@johncassani6780]

@@atigersgrin That’s true, but the difference in the foul line in the outfield grass is that the physical line extends up for a couple inches from the ground, and that likely means that the entire diameter of the sphere would be touching the line if any part of it is over the line. That wouldn’t be true on the warning track. I imagine that the rule was written this way knowing that an up wouldn’t be able to get such a good view of balls in the outfield, so he could make the call based on the ball mark in the chalk, as was always done in clay court tennis, back before the fancy replay cameras.

[@alanhess9306]

It's only different because of the way the rule is worded. It would only make sense to have the criterion the same for both the infield and the outfield.

[@CVSoprano]

An easier way to understand the rule is to put a football twist on it: is the ball breaking the plane of the foul line when touched? In football, if yes, it's a touchdown. In baseball, it's a fair ball.

[@lukezeiolf6977]

I didn’t know the rule, but I imagine it would be worded exactly how it was. This shouldn’t be controversial at all.

[@stephenkasper6081]

Why won't baseball broadcasts have a former umpire as their rules expert on the broadcast? It's the only sport that doesn't do it.

[@catman-du8927]

The local broadcasts probably aren't going to pay a former umpire to be on staff for maybe one or two plays a games. Televised games on major channels can easily pay for that. Basically all football games are televised that way so Fox, ESPN, etc. can easily pay for it. Bally Sports is the local television provider for about half the MLB teams & is going through bankruptcy so they aren't going to pay for one

[@teebob21]

It is not in the best interests of baseball broadcasts to have a rules expert in the booth. It would demonstrate their historical incompetence with respect to their rules knowledge, as well as that of the fans.

[@GiantsRangersYankees]

@@catman-du8927Yeah I can understand why a local broadcast wouldn’t have a former ump or rules expert on staff. But I wish the national broadcasts would have one, especially for the playoffs. That’s what the NFL, NHL, etc. broadcasts do.

[@catman-du8927]

@@GiantsRangersYankees I believe ESPN & FOX do. At least for the playoffs

[@themisfitjoe]

I would liken it to soccer/football. the whole ball has to be past the plane of the line for it to be consider out of bounds or a goal, same with hockey. that you can see a gap between where the ball touches the ground and the marked line means nothing. it all comes down to being in the proper position as an official to see the plane properly.

[@guessundheit6494]

If the rule is applied consistently and according to the rules, then it's a good call and no problem. Football (or "soccer" as yanks call it) has the same rule, the ball must be 100% over the line to be a goal. It's a lot easier to make that call in hockey (a disk with a flat side) or a touchdown in handegg where only the tip of the ball has to reach the end zone.

[@provincialfish]

I've always just told people who go crazy over calls like this that "the line extends upwards as well and would cut through that ball so its fair. If it was at the pole it would have clipped it" easiest way I've found to explain this. I'm surprised the commentators didn't know that. Buck Showalter has a video about this on the mlb channel

[@jamesmurray3948]

While clipping the base is a good example of why a ball prior to the base can be fair while only partially over the line, clipping the foul pole is not a good example of how a fly ball or line drive landing past the base would be called. Due to the "Foul" definition in the rule book technically half of that ball would have to be over the line to be fair if you consider the foul fair line to be absolutely flat. How MLB would judge contact with the extended white painted blades of grass or turf we don't know.

[@provincialfish]

@jamesmurray3948 oh ya I'm no expert by any means. I just say that to try and give people a visual for what I mean about the line extending upwards. I have found some people have trouble visualizing how the line could cut through the ball on a play like this. I'm sure there's many better ways that just seems to work for me explaining this thing. A fly ball is different of course.

[@richardhershberger244]

Yes, the rule about what is a fair ball is complicated, but it isn't for no reason. It was much simpler 150 years ago, a ball being fair or foul based on where it first touched the ground or a player. This meant that a ball chopped into the dirt in fair territory that then skittered into foul territory was a fair ball. This was called a "fair-foul" and some batters specialized in it. The problem was that the umpire (just one back then) had a terrible view, with both the catcher and batter potentially blocking his view of where the ball had landed. The modern rule was adopted to solve this problem. It doesn't make for elegant prose, but that is not the goal of rules draftsmanship. If I might be permitted some self promotion, "Strike Three: The Evolution of Baseball,: most readily available from Amazon.

[@stevesherman1743]

That is one of the very few arcane rules in any sport which I don’t hate.

[@coltsjason]

It was a fair ball ump is in perfect position

[@allankotmel1795]

@lindsayimber1 What are your thoughts? It looks like the home plate umpire was in a terrible position to make this call. There's no way he saw the ball over the line, but not touching the line. His perspective was off. He just happened to get lucky that it was over the line.

[@alanhess9306]

@@allankotmel1795 Nonsense. The umpire was exactly where he should be to make this call.

[@chuckinhouston9952]

Looks like a fair ball to me.

[@edwardfournier899]

There should be a rules test for announcers too. Their comments lead to more uneducated fans way too often.

[@lastdance2099]

Too bad the runner tried for second and got thrown out, if not Boone surely would've argued himself into an ejection and been wrong as he almost always is.

[@Jlundeen]

Well played by the defense here. They completely fooled everyone by acting like they didn't understand the rule, then threw the runner out at second! (Before anyone calls me out on it, yes I'm joking. But they still got the guy out, so good for them.)

[@lillyhilana666]

Still well played by the defense to react in time to get him out.

[@scottmcshannon6821]

does it matter that the player was in fair territory when he swiped it with his glove?

[@alanhess9306]

No, not at all. All that matters is the location of the ball when it is first touched.

[@MrMaelstrom07]

So could KC have that reviewed since it ended in a KC out?

[@duelist301]

They could challenge the out call, but fair/foul can only be challenged if the ball first lands beyond the set position of the umpires.

[@Head2Tow]

It’s just like a goal line in football.

[@patrickwall8517]

This same rule about the ball being over the line but not touching it isn't unique to baseball, volleyball has the same rule with regards to the ball being out of bounds.

[@zelandakhniteblade5436]

Easier just to use the football (soccer) phrase - "the whole of the ball crosses the whole of the line". There is clearly an overhang here.

[@instinctrules2969]

that wording of that rule needs to updated

[@alanhess9306]

Why? It's not hard to understand.

[@dLimboStick]

The ball was on the line when he touched it.

[@brianlance]

Same as in soccer: the ball needs to be completely over the line to be out of bounds or a goal.