Why do they call it the foul pole when if the ball strikes it, it is a fair ball?
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The purpose of the foul poles is to help the umpire judge whether a fly ball hit above the fence line is foul (out of play) or fair (a home run). The poles are a vertical extension of the foul lines. Both objects are used to determine whether a ball is foul or fair, but the names are misleading, because both the lines and the poles are actually within fair territory. Prior to 1920, the foul lines were "infinite": A fly ball over the fence had to land in fair territory, or to be fair "when last seen" by the umpire, in order to be a home run. The rule was changed to be where the ball is when it clears the fence. Thus, a fly ball hitting a foul pole above the top of the outfield fence is a home run, regardless of where the ball goes after striking this pole, and a fly ball clearing the fence on the fair side of the pole is a home run regardless of where it lands. Foul poles (shown above) are typically much higher than the top of the outfield fence, and often have a narrow screen running along the fair side of the pole to further aid the umpire's judgment. It can still be a difficult call, especially in ballparks with no outfield stands behind the poles to provide perspective. Wrigley Field is notorious for arguments over long, curving flies down a foul line (most notably in left field) which might even sail higher than the foul pole. Sometimes, even repeated TV replays cannot prove the call either way.Magglio Ordonez vs. Gary Shefield?
Do you have to be so technical? The foul pole seperates fair/foul territory, but it's in fair territory. Or do you want them to put a tiny stripe on the pole and have the umps try to decide if it landed on the fair side of the pole's stripe or the foul side. They have a hard enough time trying to decide if a ball went left or right of the pole.Will derrek lee be able to bounce back from his injury and have stats like 2005?
Because it helps to distinguish fair territory from foul territory. Anything to the left (in left field) and anything to the right (in right field) is foul. The name has nothing to do with the status of a batted ball hitting it in flight.Because thats it's name, what difference dows it make?
This section is supposed to be for questions about baseball, not semantics.
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It is the same concept as the foul line, only if it is beyond the line is it foul, anywhere on the line is fair. The foul pole is just a continuation of the line only in the air. Since it is fair if it hits the foul line, naturally it will be fair when it hits the foul pole (a continuation of the foul line. I'm sure they had to come up with the foul pole because they tried drawing a line in midair but it failed to stay =X.Why do the bats brake more than they used to?
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Its a fair ball, see the foul pole is in bounds, so if a ball hits it and goes over the wall, its a home run. if a ball hits it its a fair ball. The foul pole is there to mark where fair and foul are. Just like if a ball bounces on the chalk...its a fair ball!it's an extension of the foul line, except of course it is a pole not a line. same reason we don't refer to them as fair lines.
ball hits line --- fair ball
ball hits pole --- home run
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