Standing there with a bat over one shoulder watching your teamate slide into home and then
getting hit in the back with the ball is "blatant and avoidable" (intentional) interference????
It is surely not the batter's fault as to where the ball went after it passed F2. Perhaps we can say, "Well we know where the play is going to be made (home plate) and the batter stood too close to the play."
It is for this reason that I am usually yelling at the batter to "get out of the way" ... of course,right up until he gets hit in the back with the ball, he may think he is getting out of the runner's way.
As you have said, this is a HTBT situation. I, on the other hand, would be hard pressed to find fault with the batter and call him out. I would as a minimum need to understand the current game situation. What is the true importance of this situation/ruling? Is the batter beligerent and could his actions be viewed as intentional? etc...
okay, my quarter is now spent.
Two-bits gone!