Ball hits bat
 

Does a batted ball hitting the bat in fair territory cause the batter to be called out? Is it a live or dead ball?

If you're playing in OBR :
6.05 (h) A batter is out when after hitting or bunting a fair ball, his bat hits the ball a second time in fair territory. The ball is dead and no runners may advance. If the batter runner drops his bat and the ball rolls against the bat in fair territory and, in the umpire's judgment, there was no intention to interfere with the course of the ball, the ball is alive and in play...

So you need to ask this question: Did the bat hit the ball or did the ball hit the bat. This may sound silly but that's the way you have to look at it.
A smart hitter will disgard his bat into foul territory so there's nothing to chance.

The play involved was a short pop up down the line that was spinning toward the foul line when it hit the discarded bat, preventing the ball from going foul. OC wanted interference. Umpire ruled fair live ball.

Sounds like you hired the right umpire.

Good call. There are no foreign objects in fair territory, even a bat.

LOL ---- "Okay, coach, you do realize that if I call interference, your batter will be out, right? Interference = an out."

Bats hits ball= out

ball hits bat= nothing

That will probably cover you 99.999% of the time- but it's not an absolute and there is an exception.

If the umpire judges that the batter discarded the bat with the intent to purposely place the bat in the ball's path, even if "ball hits bat" it is interference.

No, I have never had to make that call...

Bret, it is even more convoluted than that in Fed. From my reading unless the batter purposely discards the bat to hit the ball, the bat hitting the ball is nothing.

If the ball hits the bat first in foul, then it's always foul even if it rolls fair.

Sure there are. A part of a broken bat, the rosin bag and a helmet are examples of foreign objects. If the ball touches a foreign object in fair territory, it is live and may become fair (unless its fair/foul status has already been determined).

And I agree with you - good call.

The ball hitting any of the objects you mention does not in and of itself kill the play. One correction to your post..."If the ball touches a foreign object in fair territory, it is live and may become FOUL (unless its fair/foul status has already been determined)."

That's why I said the ball is live.My post was not incorrect. The ball may become fair or foul.