Canada Protests WBSC Replay Call Awarding Team USA Runner 3 Bases on Double to the Wall - Analysis

When Team USA batter Triston Casas' fly ball to deep right field stuck on top of the outfield wall, umpires ruled the play a home run, resulting in a Replay Review in which the call was overturned to a double. Article: https://www.closecallsports.com/2021/06/canada-protests-hr-vs-2b-runner.html When making the call, the Replay Official placed batter-runner Casas at second base, but awarded baserunner R1 Logan Forsythe home plate, ruling he would have advanced three bases had the proper call been made as the initial call. Team Canada protested the game, which resulted in a 20-minute delay during which the WBSC denied the protest and Forsythe was permitted to score. What is the proper call for a ball that comes to rest on top of an outfield fence? The Official Baseball Rules (the rulebook used by WBSC for its Olympic Qualifier games) prescribes that runners get two bases (from time of pitch) if a batted ball sticks in a fence. The MLB Umpire Manual interpretation regarding this rule states, "A fair fly ball striking the top of the outfield wall and remaining on the top of the wall shall be deemed a ground-rule double." In rendering a decision, the Replay Official purportedly declared that Canada right fielder Jesse Hodges jumping up to play the stuck ball was key in declaring the ball live and in play, but this contradicts years of MLB Replay Reviews in which decisions have been made to declare balls stuck in or under the outfield wall regardless of whether the defensive player attempts to retrieve the ball. Although past practice—pre-replay and games without video review—dictates that an umpire will generally keep such play alive due to the fielder grabbing and removing the ball before the umpire has an opportunity to determine whether or not it was indeed lodged or stuck, expanded Replay Review offered an opportunity to instantaneously declare a ball stuck via video, whether or not the fielder subsequently played it. Replays appear to indicate the ball game to rest atop the right field wall in the Team Canada vs Team USA game, meaning all else equal, the MLBUM interpretation should have applied.