To the guy from Denver: no, the foul ball straight back is certainly
not a hit. It is an out, as is everything that goes backwards, unless
it bounced in front of the plate first and then spun backwards, in
which case it is a neutral. In California fuzzball, hits have to be
fair balls (90degrees instead of 180 degrees) on a regular marked
field and get out of the infield without being fielded cleanly by the
fielder, so we eased up on the tipout rule a bit. The ball has to hit
the backstop or the catcher or the umpire or go straight over the
backstop to be a tipout. Also, if there is a runner on any base and
no outs, a tipout that the catcher catches is a double play, the only
double play in corkball. When I was in St. Louis playing real
corkball that was a rule we used too. Can anyone playing the real
traditional game chime in and give some help here? South St. Louis
guys? I hope this is of some help.