Catcher interference!

[PeteBooth]

Originally posted by docs67

Is it an imediate dead ball when the batter swings at a pitch, the catcher reaches for the pitch with gloved hand, the bat hits the catcher's glove and the ball goes into fair territory?

Or do we have a delayed dead ball, batter gets first, runners that advanced go back to original bases and score only if forced in?

CI or CO (Catcher's Interference in OBR Catcher's Obstruction in FED), is a delayed dead ball - meaning do not enforce until playing action has ended.

Did B1 and all other runners advance at least one base? If the answer is yes, then the CI is ignored. If the answer is NO we have more to do.

CI is the one penalty where baseball is like football, a coach has options. He / she can either except the penalty or take the result of the play. It all depends upon the nature of the game and what happened.

The biggest debate among umpires concerning this rule is whether or not we should TELL the coach he / she has options or simply enforce the penalty and wait for the coach to say something.

Pete Booth