Scoring question

[CoogansBluff]

What I've learned here is that interference doesn't mean the umpire is saying that an out would have been made, just that it 'might' have been made if not for the interference. Then it's up to the scorer to determine what likely would have happened without interference and then award a hit or out based on that judgment.

It's interesting that a batter can (sometimes) get a hit when a baserunner interferes, but not when a baserunner makes a bone-headed mistake such as failing to run to second base and getting forced out on a line drive single to CF. Seems like that if the base runner interferes, the hitter should just be out of luck. Or, to be consistent, the scorekeeper should be able to give the batter a hit in cases in which the baserunner makes a mental error and gets forced out or misses a base, etc.

 

[Sweet Lou]

Thanks, I learn something new everyday!

 

[cmustangsfp]

I would have asked the umpire "What should she have done then? Should she have stopped to let the ball go by, kept running and made contact with the ball or waited for the crossing guard to come out and hold up a sign to make sure the ball got past her safely?" I can understand if she ran in front of a fielder who was actively making a play on the ball and not just passively waiting for it to come to her, and interfered with the fielders field of vision because the fielder and runner were close together. I would have also asked if all bunters who avoid contact with the ball are also automatically out.

 

[CoogansBluff]

I can understand if she ran in front of a fielder who was actively making a play on the ball and not just passively waiting for it to come to her, and interfered with the fielders field of vision because the fielder and runner were close together.

Good questions. ... My memory of this play is that she did run in front of the fielder, but the fielder was not moving forward, rather to the side toward 2B, and the fielder and runner were not that close to each other. The second baseman was playing pretty deep. But eye-witness accounts are not that reliable, especially those from parents with a rooting interest in the game.