Mike, I have to differ with you, based on the exact wording, which says:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by ASA Rulebook
A batted, pitched or thrown ball that is touched, stopped or handled by a person not engaged in the game, or which touches loose equipment OR any object that is not part of the official equipment or official playing area.
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By my reading, the ball touching loose equipment, whether official or not, creates a blocked ball. As does touching any object that isn't official equipment (say, a powerade bottle left on the field), or not part of the official playing area (a tree branch overhanging the field). Interference would only apply if it is loose offensive equipment; loose defensive equipment could cause obstruction if a runner tripped over it.
But the ball hitting legal defensive equipment that the defense allowed loose is a blocked ball by the exact wording of the definition. Same, in my mind, as the bats the on-deck batter may legally swing, and are legal equipment; if ODB sets the bat down and the ball hits it, we have a blocked ball.