UmpSmart

Just because somebody is trying to catch it doesn't make it interference. There has to be a hinderence for there to be interference....fly balls and pop ups fall untouched all the time, at every level.

There are 2 major things to consider....I am assuming we all agree that this is not a caught baseball, I hope. 1. Was there any hindrance of the catchers ability to catch the baseball. This is easy to figure out, if you just look at the actions of the catcher. The catcher at no point takes a step in which he did not initiate nor did he ever stop, stutter or alter in his movements...He simply misplays the pop up, which happens all the time at all levels. 2. Is the batter protected in the batters box? To answer this, you have to understand the spirit of the rule. It's made to protect the immediate action of the batter being hit by a batted ball while still in the box. Him leaving the box and re-entering the box would be an attempt to circumvent the rule. You can't leave and then re-enter, and think you will be protected by rule. This play is quite simple when you break it down. We only need to rule on fair/foul. After that if the runner gets hit with a batted ball in fair territory he is out for interference. If he gets hit in foul territory it's foul, UNLESS there is an INTENTIONAL act by the runner on a batted ball that has the possibility of becoming fair.(That doesn't happen obviously) On plays like this, you don't need to use judgment. You simply rule on the actions of all parties involved...Sometimes players misplay pop ups, and the ball falls, and in this case it unfortunately hits a runner who for whatever reason decided not to run to first.....Just rule on what happened without any judgment or opinion, and this is relatively easy.