Ruling on interference

[David Emerling]

[Use OBR]

Scenario: R1 - no outs

Play: Batter hits a sharp grounder directly to F4 which should result in an easy 4-6-3 double play. The throw to F6 is in plenty of time to retire R1 but as F6 receives the ball he immediately juggles it (i.e. does not have control) as he crosses the bag. Once off the bag, he regains the handle on the ball and prepares to throw to 1st base when his feet are swiped out from underneath him by the sliding runner who was beyond reach of the bag at the time of contact. As a result, F6's throw is wild and the ball ends up going out-of-play.

A bunch of my fellow umpires and I had a discussion about this play and I was surprised with the varied rulings despite what, in my opinion, is not a particularly difficult play to call.

Opinions?