Coach's Interference

[Guest Rick]

A batter is walked and coach of defensive team starts walking out to talk to pitcher. He crosses baseline before walked batter reaches first base, and doesn't request time either. There is also a runner on second. What is ruling?

[Velho]

Most likely nothing more than a talking to with the coach not to do that.

If it was repeated behavior after being warned or a continuation of coach acting poorly throughout the game, ejection may possibly be an option (note the three different equivocations).

If runner on second was trying to take third and got out, then it depends on specifics of who did what when and how. 

[Dottelife]

I am asking coach to wait before he gets that far. If he does we have a talk about not stepping on the field before time is granted and 99% of the time it never happens again. If so he gets restricted to the dugout but never had it go that far. 

[maven]

Eject.

No, wait: day game or night?

[The Man in Blue]

Leave the ball in play until you are 100% certain action has stopped.  Just because the defense has stopped does not mean play has stopped.  I want to see the runners no longer watching the ball (e.g., they are talking to the base coach or adjusting equipment and NOT watching the ball) before I will kill it.

Twice I’ve had a smart offense watching for this and get a run out of it.  That’s the best deterrent I can think of.

One of the two times the coach tried to argue that HE called time.  It was a short argument.

[noumpere]

36 minutes ago, The Man in Blue said:

Leave the ball in play until you are 100% certain action has stopped. 

 

At higher levels, that's approximately .1msec after the umpire declares "ball 4" (assuming the pitch is caught).  No one tries to advance when the ball is possessed in the infield.

At lower levels, the time can be considerably longer.

Too many coaches see the action on TV from the higher levels and reach the incorrect conclusion that time is automatically granted when they go out.