Question for Bretman re: batted balls hitting runners

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How about this one? Runner on first, hard shot to 2nd base side of F3. F3 dives to her right for the ball. Ball deflects off her glove and hits runner in leg. Possibly preventing F4 from making a play. But if F3 had not deflected the ball there is no way it would have hit runner because it would have been well behind her. Happened to us and runner was called out. We had big lead and coach never even argued it. Eventually won game so it didn't matter but I thought runner should have been safe.

If a batted ball contacts a runner after it is deflected, or touched in any way by a defensive player, then the runner should NOT be called out. This runner would be out only if the umpire judged that she intentionally interfered with the ball.

The rules recognize the fact that: 1) If the ball has been deflected, then the fielder already had her opportunity to field it; 2) When deflected, the ball can take an unpredictable path. Runners aren't expected to correctly guess which way the ball might ricochet. Thus, the rules cut them a break if they're unavoidably hit by a deflected batted ball.

 

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Here is why Bret is so good at what he does: He not only can give concise interpretations of rules, but also clearly understands why the rule exists. A big thank you to a person who obviously takes pride in the craft of umpiring!