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Our discussion is about an errant throw leaving fair territory, going past the intended defender, and unintentionally hitting a player. (Is there a difference between an on-deck batter or retired runner or coach?)
I don't see that this act of getting hit meets the definition of interference (hindering fielder) unless there is a fielder somewhere over there waiting to pickup the errant throw.
If the player got too close to the foul lines and was between the throw and the defender (who have moved over to take the errant throw), you have a solid case for interference. But just standing by the dugout and getting nailed by an bad throw should not be interference, nor should the defense gain from their mistake.
A careful reading of the definition of a blocked ball shows no justification for calling this a blocked ball (thus killing the ball and awarding bases.)
You wouldn't kill the ball if the coach or a retired runner got beaned; what is the diff with an O-D batter. I believe the answer is simple: Live ball, play on.
WMB
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