Erstad - Estrada Collision at the plate

[Rich]

Originally posted by CoachJM
Just saw the replay of this on Sportscenter when they were showing highlights of the Braves/Angels game.

Can anyone help me understand why this is a legal play by Erstad, even in MLB?

This one strikes me as a different animal that the famous Rose - Fosse collision because in this case, Erstad left his path to home and clearly intended to take out Estrada rather than reach home plate.

If A-Rod gets called out for slapping the ball out of an F3's hand on a tag attempt, why is this not ruled offensive interference?

Thanks.

JM

He hit a catcher with the ball who was waiting to make a tag. He did not go out of his three feet baseline to do so. This is Major League Baseball. Exactly what is the problem? He didn't reach for the glove like A-Rod, he just lowered his shoulder and hit the catcher.