Bat Again if Third Out Made Wihle at Bat

   Batter's Interference

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There are three ways a batter can commit batter'south interference. He can interfere with the catcher making a throw to retire a runner in the human activity of stealing a base. Second, he tin can interfere with a runner who is stealing dwelling. Sometimes these two overlap. Finally, he can commit backswing interference (also called "weak interference"). This happens when the batter swings and, on the follow through, his bat hits the catcher or the catcher'south glove. Each of the three case is handled differently, and then we'll take them one at a time.

1. Interfere with a catcher's throw
2. Interfere with a play at the plate
3. Backswing interference

1 - Interfere with a catcher'due south throw

When a base of operations runner is stealing and the catcher comes up quickly with a throw to endeavour to retire the runner, the concoction cannot in any way impede the catcher's endeavor – either intentionally or unintentionally. If he does, so the concoction is out, the ball is expressionless, and all runners must return to their time-of-pitch base.

The most mutual steal-and-throw scenario is a runner stealing 2d on a pitch (equally opposed to a passed ball or wild pitch). Sometimes you encounter a steal of third, simply not very oftentimes. So on a steal of second base of operations, you don't often have interference because the catcher has a clear line of sight to second base.

But sometimes you do – for example, when the batter's swing pulls him off remainder and he steps onto or beyond the plate. If there is a runner stealing second when this happens, you can very hands take batter'due south interference. When stepping over the plate, the batter tin can hands crash-land or otherwise impede that catcher'due south attempt to throw down to second. That'due south interference.

Notation: If you see batter's interference, but the catcher gets the throw off anyhow and succeeds in retiring the runner, then ignore the interference. By Rule 6.03(a)(3), if the catcher retires the runner, then, in effect, the interference never happened. On such a play, then, if other runners were also stealing when the interference is waved off, they get to remain at the base they stole.

We said a moment ago that well-nigh of the time the steal is of second base. But not always. Sometimes y'all get a base runner stealing third, and this is the instance where yous really demand to watch for batter'due south interference. That's because the throw to third often requires the catcher to throw across the right-handed batter's box. And that's where the batter is standing (if he's right-handed). And you can't expect the batter to but disappear.

Now, this gets a trivial bit catchy. There is a common misconception that if a batter remains in the batter's box he cannot be called out for interference. This is not true. The batter'due south box is non a safe haven. But, as we said, he can't be expected to disappear, either. Add to this that a play on a steal of third happens then friggin' fast that the batter may non even know a play is on until the ball goes whizzing by.

And let'south not forget about snap throws down to outset base of operations to grab a runner leading off besides aggressively, or who may not be paying attention (aye, sometimes they take hold of runners sleeping). You have the aforementioned issue hither as yous do with throws to third, but instead it's with left-handed batters.

So, with all of this fuzzy grey zone, what's an umpire to do? Well, the wording of 6.03(a)(3) is important here: The batter is out if he "… interferes with the catcher'southward fielding or throwing by stepping out of the batter's box or making any other movement that hinders the catcher'southward play at home base of operations." Every bit directives go, y'all tin can't get much broader than "any other movement." Batter beware.

The accent is of import because "any other movement" covers a lot of ground. A lot . Then the message is, give the balance of judgment to the catcher. Sometimes a bad throw is just a bad throw and y'all have zippo. Simply if the catcher'southward throw gets disrupted in any way, regardless of intent, you've got to call it.

Merely once again (for the tertiary fourth dimension), you can't look the batter to simply disappear. Y'all have to scout and judge for yourself whether the batter made "any other motility" that hindered the catcher in any style. This is a judgment phone call, of course. By and large (by and large), if the concoction remains still in the concoction'due south box and makes no motion, and so he is protected from interference. If it were me, though, I'd duck. But that's just me.

Here's where it gets even more tricky

The batter's interference play that I believe causes the nearly arguments is non on a straight-up steal. Instead, it's when the catcher mishandles a pitch (or is handling a wild pitch) with runner on base. The ball is on the ground and runners are in motions and the catcher is diving or grabbing for the ball; at the aforementioned fourth dimension the batter is dancing out of the style while trying to avoid interfering, and in doing so he instead interferes. That's interference. "But I was trying to become out of the way," the batter protests. You lot're breaking my heart, son. Yous're out.

2 - Interfere with a play at the plate

When a runner attempts to steal dwelling house, the batter has to make an effort to get out of the way of the play at the plate. This can be tricky if the runner is stealing on the pitch, equally with a suicide squeeze (which is rare, but it does happen). A play like this happens very speedily and even you, the umpire, probably don't realize what's happening until split seconds earlier it blows up right in forepart of you.

More unremarkably, interference with a play at the plate happens when at that place is a runner on third (R3) and and then there'south a passed brawl or wild pitch and R3 tries to score. You have the catcher scrambling for the brawl, the pitcher running in to encompass the plate, and y'all accept R3 barrelling toward home. Get position and sentry similar a militarist.

You have a like situation on a sacrifice double-steal. That is, with fewer than two outs and with runners on first and 3rd (R1 and R3), R1 will cede himself on a lame endeavor to steal 2nd but to draw a throw and so that R3 tin can then steal home. You don't see this also much at college levels (16U and above) because the fielders are practiced enough to defeat the play with fast, accurate throws. Simply at younger levels you run into this all the time. Once more, watch this one carefully considering ofttimes the defensive will fake the throw to second but instead hit a cutoff fielder, who then makes a play on R3 at dwelling.

Of import: When you telephone call concoction's interference on a play at the plate, who exercise you telephone call out, the concoction or the runner? The answer is, it depends. If there are fewer than 2 outs, you telephone call the runner out. With 2 outs, still, y'all telephone call the batter out. Why is this? Because with two outs, if you call the runner out (to stop the inning), then the concoction is entitled to return as the first batter in the next inning – in effect, rewarding the batter for interference. In whatever event, no run scores.

3 - Backswing interference

When a batter swings at a pitch and the momentum of his swing brings the bat around and hits the catcher, or more than commonly, the catcher's manus, this is backswing interference. It'due south sometimes referred to as "weak interference." When backswing interference happens, you must impale the ball ("Time!") and return runners (if any are in motion) to their fourth dimension-of-pitch base. However, no i is called out.

Rules Variation:  Loftier school (NFHS) rules differ on this signal. NHFS rule seven-3-5c penalizes backswing interference (FED uses the term "follow-through interference") when information technology interferes with a catcher'southward attempt to retire a base of operations runner. See NHFS dominion vii-3-v-Penalization for more than information.

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Source: https://www.umpirebible.com/index.php/rules-batting/batter-s-interference

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