Batter interference?
 

Just joined the forum (5 minute ago). My experience is all Little League. I am about to join a Ca. LL District staff as UIC. There was a call in a sectional major game last month that won't go away. I was in Mexico fishing and missed it. My home league is playing and at bat. Runner on 3rd, 1 out. Catcher drops pitch and it rolls away. R3 starts home. He realizes he will not get home safely, so he u-turns it and heads back to third. Catcher picks up the ball throws to third. Batter is still in the box with bat held above his head. Ball strikes the bat. PU calls batter interference, claiming batter had time to step clear of the play at third. PU then calls R3 out and allows batter to continue at the plate. Offensive manager challenges because play was at third, batter should be out, not R3. He does not challenge the interference call. Manager then requests to protest when PU doesn't reverse the call. PU doesn't allow protest. Manager goes to tournament director for help, who also doesn't allow the protest. Manger blows up and and gets tossed.

Manager's brother is league UIC. He claims to have called W regional and was told batter should have been called out. Dist UIC hosting tournament tells me he called W regional and was told PU was correct, R3 was properly called out. in reading 6.06 (c) (several times) it appears clear to me that the call was incorrect, that the batter should have been called out.

Any help out there?:eek:

How can the PU not allow a protest? How can the TD not allow the protest? Where in Norcal are you, btw?

Lots of things screwed up here. I am not too familiar with the upper echelons of LL management but isn't there somebody at Western Region this can be brought to for the future? It's clearly too late now but it is pretty disturbing to me that a protest wasn't even heard in this situation.

We have more LL experienced folks that should be able to provide more advice.

Welcome to the forum. I am a former District 53 umpire myself.

Did the manager not know that he could refuse to play until the protest was resolved up to a final ruling at WP?

Here's the Rule

7.09 It is interference by a batter or a runner when—

(c) Before two are out and a runner on third base, the batter hinders a fielder in making a play at home base; the runner is out;

If there were 2 outs then the batter is out.

Blue got the call correct.

Pete Booth

I think the protest would be that the play was not at HB but at 3B. How the committee would rule is moot since the protest procedure was not followed.

He wasn't making a play at home, he was making a play at third.

I'm also dubious that it was even interference in the first place but I'll stop short of saying it wasn't since I did not see the play.

709(c) covers a play at home, runner is out if less than 2 outs. In this case play was at third when R3 went down the line too far. I am getting wildly different versions between the manager, fans and district. Looking for the correct call on the runner. I believe 6.06(c) covers it, even though it could be worded better.

District said there was never a protest, but again I was in Mexico fishing (thank god!)

Something fishy going on here, and I don't mean down in ol Mexico way!!

[QUOTE]The KEY phrase in your OP

Catcher drops pitch and it rolls away.

Since F2 did not catch the ball cleanly Rule 6 does NOT apply here, rule 7 does. If you do not like 7.09(c) then use rule 7.11.

B1 in your OP is classified as a member of the offensive team and not a batter.

Pete Booth

How do you figure?

He's a batter until he completes his time at bat.

7.09(c) does not apply, the play was not at home.

7.11 is applied when the person that commits the interference cannot be declared out (on-deck batter, coach, retired batter, retired runner, etc).

Rule 6.06(c) is the appropriate rule for this situation.

Disagree,

As stated when the ball gets away from F2, B1 is not classified as the batter but as a member of the offensive team. Check your materials (MLBUM / JEA BRD etc.)

Pete Booth

The rule to apply here is 7.11 and 7.11 penalty. When there is a passed ball or wild pitch the batter is considered an offensive player, he must vacate any area to allow a defensive player the chance to put out the runner. The runner is out, or the batter is out if the interference occurs on a play at home with 2 outs.

Pete, I sure don't like being wrong but I am not too proud to admit when I am. You are correct, my apologies for being so blatantly wrong.

I am the manager of this games brother. Was at the game. The discription of the play is all wrong. Not at the fault of the person that made the original post but by the rest of the district. They are changing what happened to somehow justify the call. The ball was never dropped by the catcher. He tried to make a quick back pick. The batter never left the box but the catchers hand hit the bat. The runner never tried to score, he didnt take more than a secondary lead. There was no interference but that's a judgement call. That's fine. But even if that's a judgement call they called the wrong person out and that's missing the rule. No way a protest should not have been allowed. The worse part is the the four umpires on the field never got together to discuss the call. If you are going to have four umpires during an all star game you would assume at least one of them would know the rules.