Interference with F3 on Fly Ball
Juco game (yes, IM, it happened to me again :o). Runners at first and third, one out. Batter hits a popup to F3 who is standing a couple of feet from the first base bag in fair territory, directly in line with first and second.
R2, who took a leadoff on the pitch, is sauntering back to the bag so that she doesn't get doubled up after the catch. She clearly bumps into F3 while the ball is still in the air, but not enough to phase F3, who is able to easily catch the popup just as R2 gets back on the bag. I was doing bases, so I saw the bump from behind the shortstop. My partner and I didn't call anything. Between innings, I asked him if he saw the bump, and he confessed that he was watching the flight of the ball. Reading 12.19.1.4 and the Note that follows the first paragraph, I'm not sure if this was interference or just inadvertent contact. If R2 had stopped or tried to get around F3, she could have been at risk of being tagged off the bag after the catch. But, assuming one of us had killed it the moment of the bump, and ruled R2 had interfered, would the appropriate ruling have been R2 out and the BR placed on first base? Or would we also rule the BR out based upon what is written in the second exception at the end of 12.19.1.4? |
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Interference on a fly ball. The runner is out and the batter is out.
I assume by R2 you really mean R1 since we are applying NCAA rules. When in Rome... |
Any though on whether the bump actually hindered the fielder?
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That's U's call, so I didn't really want to disagree with Manny's judgement on that. But I will add this, since you ask... my threshold for whether this is INT or not is going to be VERY low... and also, you need to make that determination at the moment of contact, and not wait to see if it actually affects the fielder. If it IS interference, it's dead at that instant, and the catch/no-catch never happens. If it's not, and you don't call it, and then she drops it, you can't (or well... shouldn't) retroactively change your mind.
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I mentioned in my OP the second Exception at the end of the rule that states, "If the interference prevents the fielder from catching a routine fly ball, the batter is also out." Well, the bump did not prevent F3 from making the catch. She was able to catch it easily. That's why I was leaning towards this being inadvertent contact. If the Exception was written to read, "If the interference occurs when the fielder is attempting to catch a routine fly ball, the batter is also out", that would be much clearer on how to rule in this instance. Quote:
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Argh! My mistake entirely - was ruling ASA. You're right in NCAA rules that it's only interference if they prevent the fielder from making the catch. I retract all the nonsense I spouted previously. Sorry.
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