[cheddarthief]

Pitcher delivers a ball to the catcher who drops the ball and it rolls behind the batter. The catcher gets up to make a play on the ball trying to keep the runner at third from scoring. The batter backs up out of the box to allow his runner a chance to score. In the process, he kicks the ball with the back of his foot which knocks the ball way out of play. Seeing this, the 3rd base coach steals home.

My questions are: Is it interference? Does the intent of the batter play into the umpires decision either way or is it irrelevant? If it is interference, is the batter out? If it isn't, what's to keep a batter from "accidentally" stepping out of the play and either a) hitting the ball away from the catcher or b) stepping such that he puts himself between the catcher and the runner so the runner can try and score?

Thanks in advance for you help.