question on "interference"

[David Emerling]

Originally Posted by tibear

...If R1 hadn't been stealing I might kill the play but probably not, the catcher should be chasing the ball and not standing at homeplate waiting for the ball to eventually roll into the dugout...

In my original post, it was not my intent to suggest that the catcher was loafing or just "standing at homeplate."

The pitch was in the dirt, the catcher went to his knees to block it, the ball deflected off him and headed for the dugout. The catcher pursued the ball like any other catcher. No loafing.

The ball was headed for the dugout and was rolling fast enough that it certainly would have gone into the dugout had it not hit the on deck batter.

Just so this is clear, the on deck batter was standing in the on deck circle, which was near the entrance to the dugout. He was where he was supposed to be.

David Emerling
Memphis, TN