Dead ball declared by umpire due to player getting hurt - how handled?

[backstop09]

Is this handled anywhere in the rules? There was a video on another TSZ forum that showed a fielder getting hit in the face with a batted ball. It looked like there were runners on 1st and 2nd. A line drive hit the third baseman in the face (wearing a mask and turned out to be OK). She went down right away. As is human nature, coaches and teammates rushed to her. The ball was live and never was controlled in the circle. Home plate umpire immediately held up his hands and declared dead ball. All runners advanced one base and stopped.

Player safety is paramount and we obviously don't want play going on when a player may need immediate medical attention, but what should be done with the base-runners? In return for dead ball being declared and runners being stopped from advancing, after the player is tended to and the dust settles does the umpire have the option of declaring a ground rule double (or whatever you might call it) and awarding all runners and the batter-runner two bases?

 

[BretMan2]

If an umpire calls time out due to an injury, then any runners are placed on whichever base the umpire judges they would have reached had time not been called.

Generally, umpires are instructed to call time if a player might need "immediate medical attention". So, maybe if a fielder sprains her ankle, or a runner scrapes her knee, time won't be called. But any shot to the head is pretty much automatically going to be ruled a dead ball.

 

[Captain_Thunder]

In that video it looked like the 3B Coach was the first onto the playing field.......I'm sure she like anyone else was more concerned with the safety of the player than advancing an additional base............Except - possibly an 8U coaching staff arguing over high fiving..........

 

[flygirlsdad]

So if it was the third base coach on the field first, the ump could call a dead ball and an out with no runner advancement due to coaches interference, or the ump could just use common sense and call immediate time like it appears was done.

 

[BretMan2]

Just being on the field in itself isn't interference. To be interference the coach would need to either impede a fielder who is making a play or assist the runner who is running the bases. Neither of those happened here.