Another "Interference or Not"

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by IamMatt

Speaking ASA for a moment, would your seeing interference by the ODB require you to judge that the throw, had it not hit the ODB, had a chance of getting to F3 for the out?

Yes. There has to be a play for there to be interference. If it was a wild throw that happened to hit the ODB, that is not interference.

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by IamMatt

Speaking ASA for a moment, would your seeing interference by the ODB require you to judge that the throw, had it not hit the ODB, had a chance of getting to F3 for the out? IOW, to the extent possible, would you try to see if the ODB was in a more-or-less direct line between the person throwing the ball (F2) and the person receiving it (F3)?

Piggyback on Dakota, for clarity, only. You cannot assume the throw would be late, unless the runner has already reached the base, or no fielder is in position to take the throw and make the tag. Runners have been known to stop short and be tagged out with late throws. But you can, and should, judge if the throw was reasonably on line to make the play.