Expert: Brian Flaspohler - 5/10/2006

Question
I had a player hit a double the other night with the bases loaded.  On his follow through of his swing he struck the catcher in the helmet (no injury).  The ump ruled batter interference and called the batter out and sent the runners back.  My understanding was that player interference needed to impact the play in some way, and the catcher was not part of this play, and not interfered with at all.  Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.   Thanks   Jon

Answer
Jon,

I agree with your judgement on this one.  The rulebook states that interference is when a batter or fielder gets in the way of a fielder when they are involved in the play.  However, 'involvement' is in the judgement of the umpire.  If the catcher later in the play had to make a catch, then maybe the umpire believed that interference was called for.

Hope this helps!

Brian