How much contact in too much?

[jicecone]

Originally Posted by umpire99

How much contact does there need to be between a baserunner and a fielder who is attempting to field the ball before interference is called?

I had on with some contact in a FED game today. When the coach asked if there was contact I told him that there was not enough contact for me to call interference. When he then asked how much contact there needs to be I realized that maybe any contact at all is cause for interference so I changed my answer to "In my judgement, there was no contact." I knew that using the phrase "in my judgement" would stop the discussion there.

FED: Interference is any act (physical [including visual] or verbal)
that impedes, hinders, or confuses the defense.

Contact alone, is not the sole contributing factor. How much? Your first reply was acceptable however, it could have been more correct if stated , "In my judgement, there was not enough contact for me to call interference.

[Rich Ives]

Contact isn't required for interference.

Was the fielder hindered?

[bob jenkins]

OBR as the runner being out for *contacting* the (protected) fielder.

FED does not have such a clause -- the umpire must judge that the fielder was hindered.

And, you shouldn't change your answer to the coach.