CR/SFG Catcher or Batter Interference?

[UMP25]

Originally Posted by GarthB

I find this, from the same article, more interesting:

Hurdle said it was the second time in the game Iassogna refused to ask for help on a questionable play. The other time came in the first inning, when a Barry Bonds check-swing was called a ball, he said.

"There's no explanation for it all," Hurdle said. "The difficulty I have is that we were just handed a memorandum Thursday about the protocol in which to go about dealing with a check-swing. It let you know that only the catcher and manager can request help. And you can only ask for help if it's called a ball.

"For me, there's the perfect situation -- the pitch was called a ball. I asked nice, I yelled, I screamed, I screamed again."

Following Bonds' check-swing, Hurdle and catcher Yorvit Torrealba appealed to third-base umpire Ron Kulpa. Iassogna and Kulpa did not grant the Rockies' request and let the check-swing stand as a ball, Hurdle said.

Getting help on a check swing is one thing--there sometimes may be a definitive determination of whether the batter "went around," as people often mistakenly say--but determining batter interference in this case lies solely with the plate umpire and his personal opinion and judgment. No other umpire is going to be able to help in such a situation.