[UmpJM]

mike m.,

Here's the chapter (OBR):

6.06
A batter is out for illegal action when_ ... (c) He interferes with the catcher's fielding or throwing by stepping out of the batter's box or making any other movement that hinders the catcher's play at home base. EXCEPTION: Batter is not out if any runner attempting to advance is put out, or if runner trying to score is called out for batter's interference. If the batter interferes with the catcher, the plate umpire shall call "interference." The batter is out and the ball dead. No player may advance on such interference (offensive interference) and all runners must return to the last base that was, in the judgment of the umpire, legally touched at the time of the interference. If, however, the catcher makes a play and the runner attempting to advance is put out, it is to be assumed there was no actual interference and that runner is out not the batter. Any other runners on the base at the time may advance as the ruling is that there is no actual interference if a runner is retired. In that case play proceeds just as if no violation had been called. If a batter strikes at a ball and misses and swings so hard he carries the bat all the way around and, in the umpire's judgment, unintentionally hits the catcher or the ball in back of him on the backswing 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.

In this case, the OBR rule is identical to the LL rule.

Here's the verse (JEA):

Professional Interpretation: This rule encompasses any and all play by the catcher in which he is trying to retire
a runner. It includes attempts to pick runners off base and attempts to prevent stolen bases. The batter is called out and the runner/s are returned in all cases with one exception: If a runner on third is attempting to score with less than two outs when the batter interferes, the offensive team is given the more severe penalty ruling the runner out instead of the batter. With two outs, the other penalty retiring the batter is enforced and, of course, no run is allowed. This is considered a more severe penalty with two outs since the batter is deprived of finishing his at-bat the next inning.

The action by the batter which causes interference does not have to be intentional. The batter is obligated to avoid making any movement which obstructs, impedes, or hinders the catcher's play in any way. A swing which carries the batter over home plate and subsequently complicates the catcher's play or attempted play should be ruled interference. Contact between the batter and catcher does not necessarily have to occur for interference to be ruled. Merely blocking the catcher's vision to second base may very possibly be interference.

A batter shall not be charged with interference for standing still and consequently complicating the catcher's play at any base. If he is within the confines of the batter's box, he must make some "other movement" that is deemed a hindrance to the catcher's play before interference is ruled.

As to your final question, I would say the following. This board is regularly visited by some extremely knowledgeable umpires who provide correct answers to questions about the proper ruling virtually all the time. There are also some who post here who have a less stellar track record in correctly answering questions. You have to figure out for yourself who does and does not know what he is talking about.

On very rare occasions, even the very knowledgeable posters will come down on opposite sides of the same question.

So, no, this is NOT an "official" site for rulings in the sense of being sanctioned by any governing body of any rule set. But, it's a very good resource where, with the exercise of a little critical judgement, you can find correct answers to 99%+ of your questions. To my knowledge, there is no publicly accessible site that is "official".

JM