NutCase said:
Question, according to the senario, with most likely the ball would have already passed an infielder, the first baseman, and stating just off base, then wouldn't the runner be safe? ?If the ball struck the baserunner that quick then only the outfielder would have a reasonable chance at the ball? Just throwing a wrench into the works.
If the outfielder was playing in really close and, in the umpire's judgment, did actually have some reasonable chance of making a play, then he could rule interference. I'd have to see the outfielder pretty darn close, the ball hit hard enough to get to her that quickly and also hit on a general line right at her.
Also, note the ASA definition of "a play" (see Rule 1, Definitions). It is "An attempt by a defensive player to retire an offensive player". In other words, just having the ball hit in the general direction of a fielder, where she might eventually field the ball, is not in itself "a play" There must also be some reasonable opportunity for the defender to actually record an out.
NCS said:
In this scenario, the ball already passed the 1st baseman and the 2nd baseman would not have had a play...
Then, in that case, the likely call is no out on the runner and the ball remains live.
But first, the umpire would have to judge that:
- The ball passed through or within a reasonable vicinity of F3 that she could have fielded the ball.
- The runner behind F3 did nothing else intentional to contact the ball.
- An outfielder wasn't really, really close and the conditions weren't such (as described above) that the outfielder had a chance to make a play.
NCS said:
So coaches, tell your players to continue playing the ball or running the bases if a batter gets hit. ?And have your rule book handy.
And umpires- if you rule interference, immediately raise your hands, declare "Dead ball!" and make sure your signals are loud and clear enough that everybody knows what's going on!
On the baseball side of things, if this contact was not ruled interference, they tell us to give a safe signal and say, "That's nothing!", to let everyone know the ball is still live and the runner is not out. I don't believe that mechanic is in the softball umpire manuals- but I will slip it in sometimes on plays like this one.