AndrewGeorge
Member
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- Jun 17, 2014
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Had a runner called out this weekend for interference and I am looking for another umpires clarification. The umpire that called it was very nice and took the time to explain to me what he saw and why he called it but I would still like to see what others think.
Situation:
Runner on 1st, zero outs.
Ground ball hit toward fielder. Runner takes off for second base and passes in front of the defender. Defender did not move forward at all, was positioned about 2 - 3 feet behind the basepath. The runner passed in front the the fielder before the ball (no contact between the fielder and runner, like I said 2 - 3 feet between them, and no contact between the ball and runner).
The fielder did flinch back just before fielding the ball, but did field the ball clean. It was a slower roller so they likely did not have a play at first (the throw never happened because the interference was called and killed the play).
The umpire was behind the fielder and explained to me that the reason it was interference is because by running in front of the defender and causing that defender to flinch he had to make the call. He said he has no way of seeing how close the runner was to the defender from his position. By the way, I was the first base coach so I had the angle to see the space between the players.
As stated earlier, the umpire was very calm and professional and took the time to explain exactly what and why he called and saw. I thanked him and we played on, but I would still like to know others thoughts are here. All of the umpires at the Troy NSA tourney this weekend were easy to work with and very social. Job well done there this weekend if anyone from there happens to see this and can pass it along.
Situation:
Runner on 1st, zero outs.
Ground ball hit toward fielder. Runner takes off for second base and passes in front of the defender. Defender did not move forward at all, was positioned about 2 - 3 feet behind the basepath. The runner passed in front the the fielder before the ball (no contact between the fielder and runner, like I said 2 - 3 feet between them, and no contact between the ball and runner).
The fielder did flinch back just before fielding the ball, but did field the ball clean. It was a slower roller so they likely did not have a play at first (the throw never happened because the interference was called and killed the play).
The umpire was behind the fielder and explained to me that the reason it was interference is because by running in front of the defender and causing that defender to flinch he had to make the call. He said he has no way of seeing how close the runner was to the defender from his position. By the way, I was the first base coach so I had the angle to see the space between the players.
As stated earlier, the umpire was very calm and professional and took the time to explain exactly what and why he called and saw. I thanked him and we played on, but I would still like to know others thoughts are here. All of the umpires at the Troy NSA tourney this weekend were easy to work with and very social. Job well done there this weekend if anyone from there happens to see this and can pass it along.