Interference?

[DTQ_Blue]

R2 and R3. Batter hits bouncing ball toward F6. R2 runs right in front of her as ball approaches, but doesn't physically touch F6. As R2 clears F6, ball is in mid bounce about chest high and slightly to the left of F6. F6 had arms below waist and quickly tries to raise arms to field the ball, but the ball is past her before she can react. The way I saw it is that F6 lost visual contact with the ball when R2 was in front of her, and then when R2 cleared her, and she re-established visual, it was too late for her to react to the ball and field it.

I did call interference.

Next question,

How do you concisely explain this call to R2 when she asks, what did I do wrong?

[NCASAUmp]

Well, first off, that's the coach's job to ask. However, I'd say, "well, you blocked her view of the ball, and because of that, she missed it. That's interference."

Simple language that even 10U should understand.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by DTQ_Blue

R2 and R3. Batter hits bouncing ball toward F6. R2 runs right in front of her as ball approaches, but doesn't physically touch F6. As R2 clears F6, ball is in mid bounce about chest high and slightly to the left of F6. F6 had arms below waist and quickly tries to raise arms to field the ball, but the ball is past her before she can react. The way I saw it is that F6 lost visual contact with the ball when R2 was in front of her, and then when R2 cleared her, and she re-established visual, it was too late for her to react to the ball and field it.

I did call interference.

Next question,

How do you concisely explain this call to R2 when she asks, what did I do wrong?

You ruled a runner out for doing exactly what she is supposed to do. If you have given us all the information available, I don't believe there was interference on the play.

[MichaelVA2000]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

You ruled a runner out for doing exactly what she is supposed to do. If you have given us all the information available, I don't believe there was interference on the play.

I agree, nothing in the OP indicates to me that there was interference.

[DTQ_Blue]

Irish,

Well I would not go so far as to say that R2 was doing what she was supposed to do because the rules only explicitly say what she can't do. The judgment I have to make is whether she is doing one of those things she's not supposed to do.

My reasoning for the call ...

F6 can't field what she can't see, and she couldn't see the ball because R2 was in front of her. I understand that R2 wasn't intentionally trying to obstruct F6 vision, but she nonetheless did. F6 didn't have a chance to react to the ball in time after R2 cleared her. Why is that not interference?

BTW, the reason I am posting this is because I know that one of these days I will have to deal with this issue in a game that really matters (the game I'm describing here did not). I'm still relatively new to calling softball, and most umpires I've worked with probably would not have made this call, but one of the times I saw it made was with a partner working BU in a HS game who is probably one of the most experienced umpires in our association, i.e., HS and D1 college ball.

I can use some of the board's wisdom on this because I this seems to happen much more when I work softball vs when I work hardball.

[U of M Sam]

Well - a softball is actually a hardball
Do you mean the "other sport"?

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by DTQ_Blue

Irish,

Well I would not go so far as to say that R2 was doing what she was supposed to do because the rules only explicitly say what she can't do.

The judgment I have to make is whether she is doing one of those things she's not supposed to do.

Welcome to softball

Speaking ASA and just about every other rules set of which I'm aware

The runner has every right to attempt to advance to the next base. No where in the rule book does it state that the runner may not pass in front of a fielder attempting to field a batted ball.

My reasoning for the call ...

F6 can't field what she can't see, and she couldn't see the ball because R2 was in front of her. I understand that R2 wasn't intentionally trying to obstruct F6 vision, but she nonetheless did. F6 didn't have a chance to react to the ball in time after R2 cleared her. Why is that not interference?

Because the runner did not commit an "act" of interference. The fielder could have stepped up, she didn't. DMF. You are reading the rule book and taking the information too literally. If the runner did anything that was not natural to her effort to advance to the next base (hesitate and then step in front of the fielder, stop in front of the fielder, slow down for the purpose of timing their pass in front of the fielder with the ball approaching), then you would have INT as the runner committed an act of interference.

BTW, the reason I am posting this is because I know that one of these days I will have to deal with this issue in a game that really matters (the game I'm describing here did not). I'm still relatively new to calling softball, and most umpires I've worked with probably would not have made this call, but one of the times I saw it made was with a partner working BU in a HS game who is probably one of the most experienced umpires in our association, i.e., HS and D1 college ball.

I've got a little experience with the rule book, especially the interference rule after my last year's battle in Colorado Springs.

You should work every game as if it really matters as it may to some on the field. If you make this call in a game that really matters and you explain your reasoning to the coach as you did hear, you may very well lose a protest. Simply running in front of or behind a player attempting to field is nothing more than performing the duties of an active runner.

I strongly suggest that you attend as many softball clinics as possible. Did you ever think that the reason most umpires in your association wouldn't make this call because it is wrong? Experience and longevity actually carry very little weight in the rules department.

[DTQ_Blue]

Irish,

Now I never said the umpires who wouldn't make that call are the experienced ones. I've worked quite a few 2 man crew HS softball games with umpires who don't have a lot of experience, and would likely not make that call based upon my impressions of how they might call a game, i.e., gained thru conversation.

I've also had the good fortune to work a few games with some very experienced umpires. In one of those games, such a BU called INT on a R2 who ran in front of F6 on a slowly hit grounder. As I recall F6 did miss the ball but it seemed to me that though F6 may have been visually blocked from the ball momentarily, she had time to re-find the ball after R2 passed her. When my BU partner called her out, I took notice of that call and have always wondered how many other good experienced umpires would make the same call.

Irish, I see your point, but I think in the end I come down with R2 can't take F6's eyes away a split second before the bouncing ball reaches F6, even if she's simply trying to get to third base. To me, that is "hindering" because F6 has no chance to field that ball unless her glove just happens to be exactly where the ball is.

[MGKBLUE]

I have made interference calls as indicated in the OP.

As stated in the ASA Rules Supplement 33: "Interefernce is an act of an offensive player or team member that impedes, hinders or confuses a defensive player attempting to execute a play. Interference mat be in the form of physical contact, verbal distraction, visual distraction, or any type of distraction that hinders a fielder in the execution of a play. Defensive players must be given the opportunity to field the ball anywhere on the playing field or throw the ball without being hindered."

The rule of thumb I use is:

a. If the offensive player allows the batted ball to pass in front of their feet,
I do not normally have interference as the fielder has clear sifgt of the ball.

b. If the offensive player jumps over the ball or the ball passes behind the runner, I take a very close look at the reaction of the fielder and then decide whether interference should or should not be called.

[IamMatt]

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

You should work every game as if it really matters as it may to some on the field.

Thank you, Mike.

I have coached Rec-C ball and small-league middle-school ball and had some real "bad-news bears" teams, but those games are just as important to those girls as the WCWS is to Cat or Monica. They revel in their wins and die by their losses. Every play they make--no matter how poorly-executed it may be compared to an elite travel team--is important to them and the best umpires I have seen make every call "as if it mattered."