If a batter hits a fly ball and an outfielder jumps in the air, catches the ball, hits the home run fence, and falls over the fence into the stands -- is this an out or a home run?
by 
david garand
ANSWERS: 4
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If the outfielder catches the ball....it is an Out.
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It is an out. But when the player goes off the playing field, then it is the same as if a throw were to go wild into the stands, and runners would advance accordingly.
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Out. Derek Jeter dove into the stands in an attempt to catch a pop fly before. He didn't catch it; but would he go through the trouble if it didn't count?
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Short answer is as long as the fielder has not touched anything that is out-of-play, has a part of his body on or over the field of play and makes a catch it is an out. There are two different rules with regards to catching the ball "under control" and "not under control" and going out of play. In your example, the player falls, so all runners are advanced one base from their time of pitch base. If for example the first baseman catches a fly ball and walks or runs into the dugout, the ball is still live and the runner attempt to advance at risk of being thrown out.
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