Interference?? Or not?

[Guest Kevin]

There is one out bases loaded the flies out to right field and the runner at third tags up and scores yet the relay from right field hits the batter who popped up to right field who is in foul territory get hit with the ball coming in from right field. What is the call??

[MadMax]

As long as the Retired Batter-Runner (BR) doesn't intentionally make contact with the thrown ball, then this is nothing.

Tell F9 (Right Fielder) to make a better throw.

[Phu Bai]

18 hours ago, MadMax said:

As long as the Retired Batter-Runner (BR) doesn't intentionally make contact with the thrown ball, then this is nothing.

Tell F9 (Right Fielder) to make a better throw.

 Tell BR  to hustle a little more!

 

[beerguy55]

18 hours ago, MadMax said:

 

Tell F9 (Right Fielder) to make a better throw.

 

32 minutes ago, Phu Bai said:

 Tell BR  to hustle a little more!

 

And if F9 catches a fly ball/line drive in foul territory, making a throw to the plate that will have BR between him and the plate...

 

Don't open a door you want go through.  You don't want players and coaches telling you how to do your job better, practice what you preach.

 

You may or may not be kidding, but the last thing you want to advise a neophyte umpire to do, in explaining their call, is to instruct the players to run/throw better.  Sometimes the players do exactly what they meant to do and SH*# just happens - what they don't need is half-assed advice from someone who never played the game at any competitive level, if at all.

[Lou B]

21 hours ago, MadMax said:

Tell F9 (Right Fielder) to make a better throw.

Not sure the throw was from F9, the post said the relay throw hit the runner.

Maybe it was a deep fly and F9 threw to F4 or F3 who then relayed the throw towards the plate that hit the runner.

[Senor Azul]

Could you give us more details please, Kevin, as to exactly what your batter-runner was doing when he was hit with the throw? Was he still running the bases or was he returning to the dugout? And what rule set was your game played under? Was your situation anything like what is shown in the following video of an MLB game from May 2016?

 

 

[Rich Ives]

3 hours ago, Senor Azul said:

Could you give us more details please, Kevin, as to exactly what your batter-runner was doing when he was hit with the throw? Was he still running the bases or was he returning to the dugout? And what rule set was your game played under? Was your situation anything like what is shown in the following video of an MLB game from May 2016?

 

 

Interference with a throw has to be intentional. There's even a comment in (former) 3.15 about authorized personnel or the 1B coach being hit by a throw or interfering.

[Jimurray]

2 hours ago, Rich Ives said:

Interference with a throw has to be intentional. There's even a comment in (former) 3.15 about authorized personnel or the 1B coach being hit by a throw or interfering.

No, in OBR, a retired runner is only protected from unintentional interference while running the bases normally. Once he starts for the dugout he is at risk for unintentional interference. 

[Senor Azul]

I was wondering, Mr. Jimurray, when you were going to chime in on this because I know you know about retired runner interference. But did you also notice that Mr. Rich Ives not only cited an irrelevant rule but gave us its old number?

The applicable rule to this question is 2019 OBR rule 6.01(a)(5) and its following comment—

6.01 Interference, Obstruction, and Catcher Collisions

(a) Batter or Runner Interference

It is interference by a batter or a runner when:

(5) Any batter or runner who has just been put out, or any runner who has just scored, hinders or impedes any following play being made on a runner. Such runner shall be declared out for the interference of his teammate (see Rule 6.01(j));

Rule 6.01(a )(5) Comment: If the batter or a runner continues to advance or returns or attempts to return to his last legally touched base after he has been put out, he shall not by that act alone be considered as confusing, hindering or impeding the fielders.

And here is how the Wendelstedt manual (2013 edition, p. 185) explains this rule—

“A runner errantly continuing to run around the bases is not, in itself, interference. If a runner who continues to run around the bases interferes with play, the umpire will signal that’s nothing. However, if a runner who had been put out were to leave the baselines and interfere with a following play, this is interference.”

That’s why, Mr. Rich Ives, I asked the original poster to give us more details about his play because it matters whether the batter-runner was still running the bases or not. I also wonder if you actually watched the attached video because your post makes it seem as if you want us to believe you and not Joe West who made the correct on-field call of interference on the retired batter-runner.

[beerguy55]

11 hours ago, Rich Ives said:

Interference with a throw has to be intentional.

Not in OBR, not for a retired runner.

[Jimurray]

9 hours ago, Senor Azul said:

I was wondering, Mr. Jimurray, when you were going to chime in on this because I know you know about retired runner interference. But did you also notice that Mr. Rich Ives not only cited an irrelevant rule but gave us its old number?

The applicable rule to this question is 2019 OBR rule 6.01(a)(5) and its following comment—

6.01 Interference, Obstruction, and Catcher Collisions

(a) Batter or Runner Interference

It is interference by a batter or a runner when:

(5) Any batter or runner who has just been put out, or any runner who has just scored, hinders or impedes any following play being made on a runner. Such runner shall be declared out for the interference of his teammate (see Rule 6.01(j));

Rule 6.01(a )(5) Comment: If the batter or a runner continues to advance or returns or attempts to return to his last legally touched base after he has been put out, he shall not by that act alone be considered as confusing, hindering or impeding the fielders.

And here is how the Wendelstedt manual (2013 edition, p. 185) explains this rule—

“A runner errantly continuing to run around the bases is not, in itself, interference. If a runner who continues to run around the bases interferes with play, the umpire will signal that’s nothing. However, if a runner who had been put out were to leave the baselines and interfere with a following play, this is interference.”

That’s why, Mr. Rich Ives, I asked the original poster to give us more details about his play because it matters whether the batter-runner was still running the bases or not. I also wonder if you actually watched the attached video because your post makes it seem as if you want us to believe you and not Joe West who made the correct on-field call of interference on the retired batter-runner.

That video segues into an interesting and correct ruling by Wendelstedt. If that batter had run out his foul fly his being hit by the throw, even while overrunning 1B, would be nothing.