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Batters interference
by Justin C.
Batter is entitled to the batter's box, catcher must work around him, if he stays stationary.
Justin asked: We had a situation this past spring where a baserunner was attempting to steal third. Last springs call, for the umpire to call a dead ball, call the batter out and return the runner, the batter would have needed to make some sort of effort that, in the umpire's discretion, interfered in some way with the catcher's ability to make that throw. If that occurred, then the call was correct, batter out and runner returned. If, however, the batter simply stood his ground in the box and the catcher attempted to throw through him, thus hitting him, there would be no interference and the runner stays at third base. All decided by whether the umpire felt the batter intentionally positioned himself in the line of the throw, rather than the catcher did not clear himself to make that throw. Your most recent play is also determined on what the umpire felt the batter did, or did not do. Since the umpire made no call and let the runner stay at third, I would assume he felt the batter did nothing to interfere, just stood his rightful ground in the box. This call as made carries an additional ruling. If the umpire did not call a dead ball for interference, then the ball coming off the batter's helmet is still a live ball. It only becomes dead when it exits the field, thus there should have been an award of home plate for the runner at third, just like on a ball thrown by any fielder that goes out of play. In these situations, everything revolves around what the batter, and the catcher, did or did not do. It all plays out from there. Yours in baseball, Rick |
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