What counts as a catch?

Most of the arguments I hear about catches come from a rule that doesn’t exist. Say there’s a line drive to left, and the fielder gloves it, takes two steps and trips. The ball pops out, and you’ll hear it from the stands: “He had it for two seconds! That’s a catch!”

There’s no two-second rule, though. In fact, there isn’t any counting at all.

A catch takes two things: Complete control of the ball in the hand or glove, and a voluntary release. He has to have it, and he has to let go of it because he chose to. If the ball comes out because he hit the ground, hit the fence or ran into the shortstop, it was never a catch.

A few plays that aren’t catches come up all the time. A ball pinned against his chest isn’t a catch until he gets it into his hand or glove before it touches the ground, and a ball that lands in his cap or gets stuck in his shirt is never one. The same goes for a ball he pins to the ground with his glove, or one that pops out when he lands. And the trap, where the ball touches the ground and the glove at the same time, isn’t a catch either. The umpire is watching for the ball to be off the dirt.

Then there are the plays that do count. A juggle that ends in the glove is a catch, and so is a bobble he corrects before the ball hits the ground. So is a catch on the run that carries him over the fence or into the dugout, as long as he had it before he crossed. A catch he drops while pulling the ball out to throw counts too, although that’s its own argument (that’s the transfer card).

Falling into dead-ball territory is a little different. What if he catches it and his momentum takes him over the fence or into the dugout? The catch stands. The ball is dead, and every runner moves up one base. Stepping in counts the same as falling in. But if he reaches in and keeps his feet on the field, the ball stays live.

Foul pops cause their own confusion. A foul pop that hits the backstop, the screen or the ground before he grabs it isn’t a catch — it’s just a foul ball. But a pop that bounces off the catcher’s mask, or off another defensive player’s body, and is caught before it touches the ground is a catch. The ball can touch a fielder on its way to the glove. It can’t touch anything else. A foul tip is its own rule, and the codes don’t all read it the same way.