Batter hits the ball in play and then gets the catcher with follow through

[Umpy]

Doing a Little League fall ball game over the weekend and I had a batter hit an easy single and then also the catcher during his follow through and release.    If I read the rules correctly I can only call the batter out for follow-through interference if he misses the ball.  My understanding here is that since he got the ball in play there's nothing to be done but warn folks to keep hold of their bats better?  And then if it continues, what, eject a 10 year old?

What's the best approach when working with kids young enough that they are probably consistently doing it unintentionally?  My catcher was pretty upset, I want to defend my catchers where I can.

[Jimurray]

15 minutes ago, Umpy said:

Doing a Little League fall ball game over the weekend and I had a batter hit an easy single and then also the catcher during his follow through and release.    If I read the rules correctly I can only call the batter out for follow-through interference if he misses the ball.  My understanding here is that since he got the ball in play there's nothing to be done but warn folks to keep hold of their bats better?  And then if it continues, what, eject a 10 year old?

What's the best approach when working with kids young enough that they are probably consistently doing it unintentionally?  My catcher was pretty upset, I want to defend my catchers where I can.

To start with, please cite the rule you read.

[Umpy]

6.05 (c) interfering with the catcher's field or throwing the instructors comment in the RIM

Now that I read it again it says that I can only call it a strike, so no penalty to the batter in either scenario:

"If a batter strikes at a ball and misses and swings so hard he/she carries the bat all the way around and, in the umpires judgement, unintentionally hits the catcher or the ball in back of him/her on his/her follow-through before the catcher has securely held the ball, it shall be called a strike only (not interference). The ball will be dead, however, and no runner shall advance on the play."

 

That still leaves my real concern though being how to manage this in games.

[Jimurray]

1 minute ago, Umpy said:

That still leaves my real concern though being how to manage this in games.

Manage a player or players releasing their bats towards you or the catcher: From your RIM: "Situations such as throwing the bat and other potentially unsafe actions should be covered as follows: Warn the player and warn the other members of this player’s team. After the warnings highly recommend to the manager of the offending team that it is time to substitute for the offender until they are properly schooled in the proper method of discarding the bat after the ball is hit. While there is no easy solution to this problem ultimately the responsibility rests with the team manager for teaching the players the proper way to discard a bat."

If the offending batter bats again I sternly advise him to carry the bat to 1B if he gets a hit.

[Senor Azul]

The rule under discussion is actually Little League rule 6.06c and its following Instructor's Comment. As for backswing, the following text is from the 2017 Jaksa/Roder manual (p. 100):

If a batter contacts the catcher, or his mitt, or the baseball unintentionally with his backswing, it is interference without a play. If the catcher is in the act of throwing the ball in a play against a runner and the backswing contacts him, the throw should be allowed to occur, and if it directly results in the out of the runner played against, the interference is nullified, and the play stands. If the throw does not directly result in the out of the runner played against, or the throw is not made, it is considered interference without a play; the ball is dead and runners must return to their TOP bases. If the backswing hits the catcher after a ball has been batted and the catcher is prevented from making a play, it is treated as regular interference; the batter-runner is out and other runners return to their TOP bases. Also, backswing contact may occur after a wild pitch (ball is far removed from the catcher, who has no play); the ball is dead and runners are allowed only one base.

[834k3r]

16 hours ago, Umpy said:

Doing a Little League fall ball game over the weekend and I had a batter hit an easy single and then also the catcher during his follow through and release.

 

18 minutes ago, Senor Azul said:

The rule under discussion is actually Little League rule 6.06c and its following Instructor's Comment. As for backswing, the following text is from the 2017 Jaksa/Roder manual (p. 100):

If a batter contacts the catcher, or his mitt, or the baseball unintentionally with his backswing, it is interference without a play. If the catcher is in the act of throwing the ball in a play against a runner and the backswing contacts him, the throw should be allowed to occur, and if it directly results in the out of the runner played against, the interference is nullified, and the play stands. If the throw does not directly result in the out of the runner played against, or the throw is not made, it is considered interference without a play; the ball is dead and runners must return to their TOP bases. If the backswing hits the catcher after a ball has been batted and the catcher is prevented from making a play, it is treated as regular interference; the batter-runner is out and other runners return to their TOP bases. Also, backswing contact may occur after a wild pitch (ball is far removed from the catcher, who has no play); the ball is dead and runners are allowed only one base.

As always, @Senor Azul and @Jimurray are on top of it, but what's unclear to me is whether the bat was released toward the catcher ("thrown") or if the catcher was contacted with the bat still in the batter's hand/hands. The two scenarios have different outcomes.

[beerguy55]

17 hours ago, Umpy said:

Doing a Little League fall ball game over the weekend and I had a batter hit an easy single and then also the catcher during his follow through and release.    If I read the rules correctly I can only call the batter out for follow-through interference if he misses the ball.  My understanding here is that since he got the ball in play there's nothing to be done but warn folks to keep hold of their bats better?  And then if it continues, what, eject a 10 year old?

What's the best approach when working with kids young enough that they are probably consistently doing it unintentionally?  My catcher was pretty upset, I want to defend my catchers where I can.

Is he hitting the catcher on the follow through...or is he letting the bat go and it's hitting the catcher.  Two very different scenarios.

[Umpy]

As I recall he got him with the follow through, and then released the bat.  So I guess both?  How would you handle differently in the two scenarios?

[834k3r]

21 hours ago, Umpy said:

As I recall he got him with the follow through, and then released the bat.  So I guess both?  How would you handle differently in the two scenarios?

If he hit the catcher with his follow through, that's follow-through INT, and I adjudicate the play accordingly as described by @Senor Azul.

[Aging_Arbiter]

tape his hands to the bat