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As a veteran clinician once told me when I first started umpiring, "That's not umpire interfernce, it's umpire incompetence."
Unfortunately, there is no call to be made because there is no rule on it. Umpires become part of the field in every instance except when they violate the umpire interference definition as mentioned above (in OBR, it's under rules 2.00 INTERFERENCE, 5.09(b), 5.09(f) and 6.08(d)), they pick up a live ball (no specific rule, but I believe there's an authoritative interpretation out there somewhere), or a pitched or thrown ball gets lodged in an umpire's uniform (5.09(g)).
When an umpire hinders a runner, there is no recourse. The umpire cannot decide to keep a runner on base or advance him further because he got in the runner's way. It's just one of those things that an umpire should try his best not to do.
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"Let's face it. Umpiring is not an easy or happy way to make a living. In the abuse they suffer, and the pay they get for it, you see an imbalance that can only be explained by their need to stay close to a game they can't resist." -- Bob Uecker
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Mon Apr 14, 2014, 10:52am
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