Interference or Obstruction?

[SavoyBG]

Interesting play today in my high school game. I was on the sacks, two outs with a runner on first, so I am in the B.  Batter pops up on the first place line about halfway between home and first. The pitcher calls the ball and is sizing it up. The first baseman is also charging down the line to try and catch it. The batter-runner and first baseman collide violently. My partner on the plate delays a couple of seconds and after the ball hits the ground he calls time and calls the batter-runner out for interference. He told me later that after he saw where the ball landed he decided that the first baseman had a better chance to catch the ball than the pitcher.

If this play occurs and you decide that it's the pitcher's ball, then you have obstruction on the first baseman . Now, suppose the ball is caught by the pitcher in foul territory, or the ball lands in foul territory. You can't give the batter first on a foul ball, can you?

If obstruction is called it's not a dead ball and the play continues. What are the different scenarios with fair or foul, and with the batter-runner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[maven]

Protecting F3 here is fine: I'd support an INT ruling, R1 out, BR awarded 1B.

27 minutes ago, SavoyBG said:

Now, suppose the ball is caught by the pitcher in foul territory, or the ball lands in foul territory. You can't give the batter first on a foul ball, can you?

No, because the ball is still live after OBS, the foul ball or foul out will "count." Either the batter returns to the plate after a foul ball, or he's out on the foul out.

[noumpere]

30 minutes ago, SavoyBG said:

Interesting play today in my high school game. I was on the sacks, two outs with a runner on first, so I am in the B.  Batter pops up on the first place line about halfway between home and first. The pitcher calls the ball and is sizing it up. The first baseman is also charging down the line to try and catch it. The batter-runner and first baseman collide violently. My partner on the plate delays a couple of seconds and after the ball hits the ground he calls time and calls the batter-runner out for interference. He told me later that after he saw where the ball landed he decided that the first baseman had a better chance to catch the ball than the pitcher.

If this play occurs and you decide that it's the pitcher's ball, then you have obstruction on the first baseman . Now, suppose the ball is caught by the pitcher in foul territory, or the ball lands in foul territory. You can't give the batter first on a foul ball, can you?

If obstruction is called it's not a dead ball and the play continues. What are the different scenarios with fair or foul, and with the batter-runner.

 

The different scenarios are just as you described -- BR out if F1 catches the ball; B returns to the plate (with a strike, if it's not strike 3) if it's a foul ball.

[Gfoley4]

1 hour ago, maven said:

Protecting F3 here is fine: I'd support an INT ruling, R1 out, BR awarded 1B.

Typo? He says B/R collided with F3

[Senor Azul]

The following two citations are for OBR but I am certain they also apply to FED. The 2017 Jaksa/Roder manual says, “If a batter-runner is obstructed before first base, but his batted ball becomes caught or foul, the obstruction is nullified.”

The 2018 Minor League Baseball Umpire Manual states the same thing (section 6.16, p. 95): 

When the batter-runner is obstructed before reaching first base, it is not always the case that the batter-runner will be awarded first base on this type of obstruction. For example, if the batter-runner is obstructed before reaching first base on a fly ball or line drive that is caught, the batter-runner is out. The reasoning here is that the obstruction had no bearing on the fact that the batter hit a fly ball that was caught by the defense. Similarly, should the batter-runner be obstructed before reaching first base on a foul ball not caught, the foul ball prevails. Again, the reasoning is that the obstruction had nothing to do with the fact that the batter hit a foul ball.

[maven]

10 hours ago, Gfoley4 said:

Typo? He says B/R collided with F3

The typing was fine. The reading was suspect. Sorry!

[SavoyBG]

9 hours ago, Senor Azul said:

The following two citations are for OBR but I am certain they also apply to FED. The 2017 Jaksa/Roder manual says, “If a batter-runner is obstructed before first base, but his batted ball becomes caught or foul, the obstruction is nullified.”

The 2018 Minor League Baseball Umpire Manual states the same thing (section 6.16, p. 95): 

When the batter-runner is obstructed before reaching first base, it is not always the case that the batter-runner will be awarded first base on this type of obstruction. For example, if the batter-runner is obstructed before reaching first base on a fly ball or line drive that is caught, the batter-runner is out. The reasoning here is that the obstruction had no bearing on the fact that the batter hit a fly ball that was caught by the defense. Similarly, should the batter-runner be obstructed before reaching first base on a foul ball not caught, the foul ball prevails. Again, the reasoning is that the obstruction had nothing to do with the fact that the batter hit a foul ball.

Thanks, that clears it up. The obstruction only matters if the ball is fair and uncaught.