Yes, the batter was out of the box. And even on the pop fly, the catcher had run to the far side of the batter, so whether the batter was in the box or not, it didn't qualify as an immediate scramble.
To echo SamNVa, when the guy fails to run to first immediately--something he should have learned long ago--then I shouldn't be accommodating him.
I should have called interference in both instances. For some reason, I have over the many years always hesitated to call interference when it's clearly unintentional, unless it's out-and-out obvious. I been saying to myself, wrongly, "If the stupid defensive player had done what he was supposed to do, the contact wouldn't have happened" or "It was just a bump--the fielder still had plenty of opportunity to catch the ball." I am going to work on that part of my game.
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greymule
More whiskey—and fresh horses for my men!
Roll Tide!
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