Through the Years: Baseball 1971-2015
June 30, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It's often a surprise to fans that the first MHSAA Baseball Finals were played in 1971, despite a long history of the sport among the state's high schools.
But that history, while shorter than for some of our other sports, has had its share of highlights as one of our final good-byes to the school year every spring.
Check out below our recent feature on the tournament's history from our spring issue of benchmarks, built and written by Rob Kaminski, and scroll to the bottom of the page for a link to our first installment on softball. We'll look at more MHSAA postseason events every Tuesday and Friday throughout this summer.
Previous installments
June 28: Softball - Read
Be the Referee: Fair or Foul?
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
May 6, 2026
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Fair or Foul? - Listen
In baseball or softball, what makes a batted ball fair or foul? Seems pretty easy, right?
Let’s go through some scenarios.
The white chalk line is considered fair territory. So are any foul poles. If a ball hits the foul pole – it’s a fair ball.
If a ball hits a base – it’s a fair ball.
If a ball that hits the ground in the infield, crosses over a base in fair territory before slicing into foul ground, it’s a fair ball because it crossed the base in fair territory.
A ball in the infield that is hit into foul territory that spins back into fair ground is fair. It doesn’t matter that it hit in foul territory first.
And a ball that rolls to a stop before getting to a base, that is sitting in foul territory but is hanging over the white chalk line, is fair.
Previous 2025-26 editions
April 28: Wrong Green - Listen
April 21: Injured Runner - Listen
April 14: Officiate Michigan Day - Listen
March 11: Basketball Replay - Listen
March 3: Over the Back - Listen
Feb. 24: Wrestling Out-of-Bounds - Listen
Feb. 17: Backwards Skiing - Listen
Feb. 10: Faking Being Fouled - Listen
Feb. 3: Bowling Pins - Listen
Jan. 27: Ski Gates - Listen
Jan. 20: Cheer Judges - Listen
Jan. 13: Basketball Over the Back - Listen
Jan. 6: Bowling Ball Bounces Out of Gutter - Listen
Dec. 9: Puck on Goal Netting - Listen
Dec. 2: Goaltending vs. Basket Interference - Listen
Nov. 25: Football Finals Instant Replay - Listen
Nov. 18: Volleyball Libero Uniforms - Listen
Nov. 11: Illegal Substitution/Participation - Listen
Nov. 4: Losing a Shoe - Listen
Oct. 28: Unusual Soccer Goals - Listen
Oct. 21: Field Hockey Penalty Stroke - Listen
Oct. 14: Tennis Double Hit - Listen
Oct. 7: Safety in Football - Listen
Sept. 30: Field Hockey Substitution - Listen
Sept 23: Multiple Contacts in Volleyball - Listen
Sept. 16: Soccer Penalty Kick - Listen
Sept. 9: Forward Fumble - Listen
Sept. 2: Field Hockey Basics - Listen
Aug. 26: Golf Ball Bounces Out - Listen