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What happens to a fan if he or she interfers with a baseball game
Player Close To Going Into Stamds
Anonymous asked: If a fan catches a fly ball that a player was going to catch, what happens if he or she interferes with a baseball game? Spectator clearly interferes with the outfielder attempting to catch the fly ball. Umpire calls the batter out for spectator interference. Ball is dead at the time of the call. Umpire decides that because of the distance the ball was hit, the runner on third base would have scored after the catch if the fielder had caught the ball which was interfered with , therefore, the runner is permitted to score. This might not be the case if such fly ball was interfered with a short distance from home plate. In the images above, a few different looks at this situation. Image 1: Player is headed into the stands, the umpire is right on the call so he can determine whether the ball is touched inside the field or outside the boundary, and by whom it is touched, player of spectator. Image 2: Far right photo, looks like a battle between the outfielder and the fan to the left, with his arms extended. Close call if the fan touches the ball as they are right on the boundary. Image 3: Ball ends up being caught inside the boundary, had the fan reached over and touched the ball, or the player, it would have resulted in interference. These situations are toughest on the umpires, mostly because some of the distances and angles, it is hard to see exactly what has occurred. I believe that should interference be called when the ball is still on the field side, the fan is generally escorted out of the stadium for the day. If the play happens inside the stands, the players go there at their own risk. Spectators that go on the field of play are escorted out regardless of obstructing a play or not. Yours in baseball, Rick
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