What call would you make?

[Blaine Gallant]

Greg:

I would treat this as "unintentional interference" under 3.15 (OBR). While the player came out of the dugout, he is an authorized person on the field. I see it no differently than if the bat boy had come out and grabbed the ball with no intent to interfere. As such, you can rule on what you felt would have occured had the interference had not occured.

So, in your situation, if the player had not picked up the ball, where would the runner have gone? Even if it was the offense picking up the ball, you could award the runner a base, but be sure the advance was going to be made as the defensive coach will be coming out for a "discussion".

However, if the interference in INTENTIONAL, you can call the runner out (offense interferes) or award bases (defensive player interferes). Again, under 3.15 you have great lattitude. It is one of the only times we get to play "fantasy baseball".

Blaine Gallant