Dropped Foul Ball

Question
The rule book states that any misplay on a ball that prolongs the life of the batter is an error.  Does a dropped foul ball constitue an error?  The local experts insist that it is only an error if the batter goes on to get on base .... if the batter subsequently goes out, no error should be charged on the dropped foul.

Answer
Thanks for the question. Dropped foul balls do constitute errors in all situations. The only reference to this situation in the ASA rulebook is that (as you said) any misplay on a ball that prolongs the life of a batter is an error. Since any dropped foul ball would prolong the life of the batter (whether the hitter ended up on base or not)it is always scored as an error.

This question is interesting for me because I was just watching a Cubs game the other day and Bob Brenley referenced the same rule. Interestingly enough, the MLB recently changed the rules so that now, like the ASA rule, any misplay on a foul ball that prolongs the batter's life is immediately given an error. However, before this rule was altered, scorekeepers waited to see if the batter got on base before an error was given to whomever dropped the foul ball. It is possible that the experts you know are more familiar with baseball rules, where (at least in the past) an error was only charged when the batter does not get out.