Jump to content

Runner interference on caught foul fly ball


Scotty_Ump
Umpire-Empire locks topics which have not been active in the last year. The thread you are viewing hasn't been active in 1759 days so you will not be able to post. We do recommend you starting a new topic to find out what's new in the world of umpiring.

Recommended Posts

(This was a situation that nearly happened to me last week in an adult league game - modified OBR rule set. Thankfully there wasn't any interference on the play but it got me wondering what the right call is...)

1 out, bases full. No count on batter.

Batter hits fly ball in foul territory on 3B side. R3 interferes with F5 who's running towards foul territory to catch the ball. F5 manages to catch the foul fly ball despite the interference.

So what do we have? Here are 3 outcomes I see possible.

  1. R3 is out, and ball is foul is since time is called at time of interference (despite being caught by F5). R2 + R1 return to bases occupied at TOP. Batter remains at bat with count 0-1.
  2. R3 is out AND batter is out on the foul fly catch. R2 + R1 return to bases occupied at TOP.
  3. When F5 catches ball ignore interference since it did not prevent the defense from obtaining an out. Bases remain full and next better steps in with 1 out.

I've been thumbing through OBR and FED rule books for what to call here but I can't find any rule (or combination of rules) that support any of these calls. My gut tells me it's #1 and that's what I would have called in that game had interference happened.

Would appreciate some help on what the call is here, w/ rule references (OBR + FED). Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, scrounge said:

It is indeed #1 for Fed. See the 2019 interpretations on their website....it has this EXACT case.

That's exactly what I'm looking for in FED. Thanks for the interp reference, @scrounge - I just looked it up and posted below. And like @Richvee said I don't see why other codes would differ here.


SITUATION 16: R2, on second base, rounds third and runs into F5 as he attempts to field a foul fly ball. This action occurred with (a) a count of 1-1; (b) a count of 1-2; or (c) two outs. RULING: In all three instances, R2 is out for his interference. In (a), the batter returns to bat with a count of 1-2 and in (b), the batter returns to bat with a count of 1-2 as the pitch is treated as a foul for the batter’s count. In (c), the batter will lead off in his team’s next offensive half-inning. (7-4-1f)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...