Foul Ball facts
While investigating facts about Foul Ball Hits Child and Foul Ball Hits Girl, I found out little known, but curios details like:
Philadelphia outfielder Richie Ashburn once fouled off 14 pitches in a row. One foul bowl struck a woman, breaking her nose. While being carried off the field, she was struck by another foul ball hit by Richie during the same at-bat.
how is the little girl hit by foul ball?
In 1982 Jim Rice saved a 4 year old boys life. The boy was hit in the face by a foul ball and Rice knew it would take several minutes for the ballparks EMS to get to the boy. He immediately sprinted into the stands, picked up the boy, and ran him into the dugout to the team doctor.
What's foul balls?
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what foul ball in baseball. Here are 24 of the best facts about Foul Ball Hits Fan and Foul Ball Rules I managed to collect.
you are sitting at a baseball game when a foul ball?
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Richie Ashburn hit a foul ball into the stands that struck spectator Alice Roth, breaking her nose. When play resumed Ashburn fouled off another ball that struck her while she was being carried off in a stretcher.
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During a 1957 Phillies game, Richie Ashburn hit a fan with a foul ball, breaking her nose. When play resumed he hit her again with another foul ball as she was being taken out on a stretcher.
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Before the American Civil War, baseball was played with either the New York Rules (today’s game) or Massachusetts Rules. Mass Rules there were no fouls, defenders had to throw and hit runners with the ball to get them out, runners could use the whole field to dodge the ball, and game was to 100!
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The NBA nearly died before adopting the Shot Clock in 1954. Before implemented, games often turned into winning teams passing the ball indefinitely, running out the clock. Fans were quickly getting bored of the long and foul (*blood*) bathed games.
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In 1902, a fan was killed when he was passing someone a knife and a foul ball drove the knife into his chest
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Infamous Steve Bartman, the fan that "disrupted" a foul ball catch during the Cubs potential pennant winning game, was offered over $100,000 in endorsements but has refused them all.
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The basketball terms "slam dunk," "air ball," and "no harm, no foul" were all coined by famed NBA sportscaster Chick Hearn, who also coined various similar phrases while casting labeled "Chickisms."
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The 30 March 2005 Powerball paid out 110 second prizes - not because of foul play, but because a large NY food company had printed the winning white ball numbers in thousands of fortune cookies. The printed Powerball number was only 2 off.
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During a 1957 Phillies game, Richie Ashburn hit a foul ball into the stands that struck spectator Alice Roth, breaking her nose. When play resumed Ashburn fouled off another ball that struck her while she was being carried off in a stretcher.
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In the past 150 years, only 1 fan at an MLB game has been killed by a foul ball
Why is a foul ball a strike?
You can easily fact check why do foul balls count as strikes by examining the linked well-known sources.
In 1915 Wrigley Field became the first baseball stadium to allow fans to keep home runs and foul balls hit into the stands
Ricky Gutiérrez owns the MLB record for seeing the most pitches in a single at-bat. With two strikes in the 8th, he proceeded to take a combination of three balls and hit 14 fouls before ultimately striking out. - source
Babe Ruth was knocked unconscious when he ran into the wall while chasing a foul ball. - source
In 1982, a little boy was hit in the head with a screaming foul ball, and rather than wait many minutes for EMTS to arrive, Jim Rice scooped him up and brought him to the dugout where he got immediate medical attention and was quickly hospitalized. He is credited with saving the boy's life.
When is a foul ball a strike?
In baseball, a foul ball is never caught. If a ball is caught in foul territory it is simply an out, not a foul ball or "caught foul ball".
How is girl hit by foul ball?
Japanese baseball parks have safety netting along the stands in foul territory, not just behind home plate, and ushers to alert fans to foul balls
Baseball has ball attendants to catch fouls near the stands
A Cubs fan who caught a foul ball later declined a six-figure offer to star in a Superbowl commercial
John Hughes (White Sox fan) originally wanted to film Ferris Bueller's caught foul ball at Comiskey Park, but didn't because the White Sox were out of town
